Not The End Yet
by ManonCinephile
Summary: Charles and Elsie are a divorced couple, who have to cope with an event which will make them closer.
1. Chapter 1

This is my very very first story. And I'm French, so please don't be too hard with me. I accept all critics, especially the constructive ones. If someone wants to help me with my English, I would be delighted !

I'm a huuuge fan of movies, so you'll probably see some references to movies, or series.

Hope you'll enjoy !

…...

« -A Martini, please. Thank you.

-Same thing. Thank you. »

Elsie, leaned up against the bar, looked up to Charles. They both stayed silent for some time before Charles spoke :

« -You look stunning Elsie, really.

-Oh, don't start.

-I mean it ! You've changed your hair coloring, and...

-Yeah, now it's my own.

-Oh, well, it's nice.

-Stop it Charles, you're making it worst. »

But Elsie was smiling when Charles looked down at his glass, before taking a sip :

« -It's a great party isn't it ? »

Charles looked in front of him :

« -Yeah, well, you know Violet, their marriage anniversary it's a good occasion. She likes to have people around. Igor too.

-Yes, that's quite obvious. » She said, while a group of 10 persons she didn't know, walked to the bar next to them.

« -Anyway, how is Lucia ? I don't think I have seen her yet.

-Hmm... She … I mean, we broke up.

-Oh. Not nice. I'm sorry.

-Are you really ?

-Yes. We're divorced. But that doesn't mean I want to see you unhappy. »

They both looked at each other and smiled shyly.

« -Where are Robert and Cora ? I saw them before, but now …

-Just no idea. And where is Beryl ? Did you come with her ?

-Yes, and Bill. Because I didn't see her for 2 hours. She must be completely drunk somewhere by now ! »

Charles laughed openly at that, and Elsie finished her drink, before putting it down on the bar.

« -Elsie ?

-Yes ?

-Good luck ! Here she is !

-Oh no. Good luck to you ! She hadn't seen you for much longer than me.

-Charlie ! Come here and kiss me !

-Hello Beryl, how are you ? »

He bent down to kiss her on the cheek. Beryl put her arms around his middle. Elsie rolled her eyes, and then smiled fondly.

 _«That smile... Stop that Elsie. Now. »_ Elsie thought.

« -Alright Beryl, let the poor man alone. Why don't we go and try to find Bill ? Maybe it's time we go home.

-Yes, let's go ! He is so handsome in his suit, I will take it off of him the minute we're in the house !

-Yeah, let's do that. »

Elsie laughed. Charles looked at her and mouthed a thank you. Elsie nodded and smiled up at him, before linking arms with Beryl and turned around.

 _« That smile... No, stop Charles. Stop. »_ Charles thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you sooo much for all of your reviews ! I'm very happy that my story pleased you :)

…...

«- My fucking god... » Said Beryl painfully while she went down the stairs.

-Oh, no alcoholic coma for you then, I was worried.

-Shut up Elsie. »

Elsie laughed. Beryl was covering her eyes with her hand, and trying to go to the kitchen table without hurting herself on something.

« -Where is Bill ?

-Out, buy something for breakfast.

-Okay.

-How is your stomach?

-Bad. Very bad. Did I vomit ?

-Don't think so... How is your head ?

-Hmm... Big hangover. But it's Igor's fault. Why does he always buy so much Vodka ? »

Elsie laughed again. Her friend was funny even with a hangover.

« -Did I embarrass someone yesterday ?

-Why ? Don't you remember a thing ?

-Well, not everything, no...

-Hmm, no I don't think you did an embarrassing thing, but I was not all the time with you.

-Where were you ?

-Well, we made the travel together. We had lunch at the same table. But during the dancing time, you and Bill danced, and I spoke with Robert and Cora, Violet, and I went to the bar.

-And then I found you ! Yeah, I remember now. You were with Charles, right ?

-Yes, I was.

-Oh my god, and I hugged him !

-You did.

-Fuck.

-Actually, I found it funny, we both did, I think.

-And how was it ?

-What ?

-The cake, silly ! The meeting with Charles !

-It was not a meeting. We were both drinking a glass at the same time, no big deal ! We talked 5 minutes and then you came.

-What did you talk about ?

-Nothing particularly, the party above all.

-Did he tell you that he had broken up with Lucia ?

-He did.

-Discuss the party, my ass... Did he tell you about his new girlfriend ? »

Elsie felt a short pain in her stomach. It has been fast, but she did feel it.

 _« Fuck Elsie. It's been 8 years now. But it's so old and so new at the same time. But think about Joe ! He is real.»_

« -No. How is she ?

-Do you really want to know ?

-Sure. What if this one stay for good ? I want to know her.

-Well, Bill and I met her twice. Once in the cinema, and an another one in the supermarket. Her name is Chloé, she is french.

-French ? Well Lucia was Italian... I didn't know he likes other culture that much.

-Says his Scottish ex-wife.

-Right. How old is she ?

-Must be around 40. Are you okay with this Elsie ?

-Beryl, calm down. I'm fine, really. We are grown up adults. He has someone, I have someone. We continue to have a good relationship for our girls, and our friends.

-I really don't know how you both manage to do that. But it's working. Thank god, we don't have to choose between the two of you. »

At this moment, the telephone of Elsie rang.

« -It's Joe, sorry, but I have to...

-For heaven sake, make that awful thing stops ! »

Beryl moaned loudly. Elsie picked up her phone and made her way trough the room where she had slept.

« -Hello, Joe. Fine, and you ?»

…...

« -Hi Charles ! Do come in. You're just in time, coffee is ready.

-Thank you. Where is Isobel ?

-Bathroom. Taking some pills for her hangover I think. »

Charles smiled and took a chair at the bar. Richard passed him his cup and sit next to him.

« -So, how did you find the party ?

-Great, too much Vodka as usual, but great.

-Yeah, plenty of people too.

-That's sure !

-I think I sighed Elsie, but I'm not sure. I stayed with Isobel all the time. She was quite drunk, and I didn't want to let her alone.

-Ah, well Beryl was drunk too ! And yes, Elsie was there.

-Oh, did you talk ?

-A little yes.

-How is she ?

-Good, I think. She looked good.

-I'm sure she did.

-Richard, don't start.

-Start what ?

-I know where you're heading with that kind of stuff.

-Okay, sorry. Did you tell her about Lucia ?

-Yes, because she asked.

-Did you tell about Chloé ?

-No, because she hadn't.

-Did she tell you about James ?

-What about him ?

-They broke up. He left for Brazil two months ago, after telling her he was gay.

-What ? Why nobody told me ? How can someone leave her for a guy ? At his age ! She must have been so sad.

-She was. But not that much. I think there were more friends than lovers. Well, that's what my wife told me. Anyway, she went to Scotland for some time after that, and met someone. What is his name ? Joe, I think. Yeah, Joe. »

Charles felt his stomach hurt. It has been short, but he had felt it.

 _« Shit Charles, it's been 8 years. But why do I continue to feel like that ? No, think about Chloé. She is really there. »_

-Okay, how is he ? Did you meet him ?

-Yeah, once. In restaurant. He was nice.

-How old is he ?

-Don't know. Probably around 65.

-Well, I didn't know she liked them old.

-Says her almost-10-years-older-than-her ex-husband.

-Alright, alright. And I'm 7 years older, not 10.

-Yeah, I know. Are you okay Charles ?

-Of course. Why ?

-Don't know. All this thing...

-All this thing is fine. We are divorced, but civilized. We talked to each other for the sake of our girls, and our friends. She is happy with Joe, I am happy with Chloé.

-How is she, by the way ?

-Good, we have lunch together today. I have to change myself before heading up to her flat. So, I think I will leave. »

Richard smiled and nodded. Both men stand and walked to the door.

« -Bye, Charles.

-Bye. And please kiss Isobel for me.

-I will. »

Charles walked down to his car. His phone rang.

«Hello, Chloé. Yeah, I'm on my way. »


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! Thank you again for all your messages! It helped me a lot to continue!

My final exams are in two weeks, so I might not be able to write a lot, but I will try, because I like to write this story!

Okay, so here we go, this chapter is the lunch between Chloé and Charles. The next one will be the supper with Joe and Elsie.

Reviews always welcome if you want.

Hope you'll like it!

…...

"Come in! It's open!"

Charles did as he was asked and carefully opened the door.

"Where are you?" He took off his coat and put it on the hat stand beside the door.

"Kitchen!" He made his way into the flat, though the living room, to the kitchen.

"Hello." Charles put his hands on her shoulders. Chloé kissed him quickly on the corner of his mouth. He removed his hands.

"Charles? Could you open a bottle of wine? It's on the table. I'm almost done here." She kept her eyes on the pan before her and didn't see him go out to the living room. Chloé had put some flowers on the table. The table setting was perfect, as well as the wine.

" _Elsie never chose the good wine. She never knew how to choose it, even when I tried to teach her. But she trusted me to choose it."_ He smiled fondly. Then, a memory from a long time ago came to his mind.

" _Who was it ?" Charles asked while he made his way out of the bathroom to their room._

" _Room-service. You were in the bath, so I ordered everything. French omelettes, and Tiramisu for dessert." Elsie walked slowly to him, and put her hands on his chest, then around his neck._

" _Hmm... Sounds good to me. Why don't you get in bed while your amazing husband puts everything on a tray for you." He swayed her sweetly in his arms, and their eyes never left each other._

" _Well, my amazing husband, I must say that is a_ _n excellent idea_ _."She kissed him quickly and started to undress immediately. He looked at her lovingly for a moment, and then turned to start preparing the tray._

" _Els, darling?"_

" _Yes?"_

" _What the hell is that?" he asked and turned to her._

" _That's wine."_

" _Baby, I can assure you, that this stuff is anything but wine."_

" _Oh, I chose wrong …"_

" _Very wrong... "_

" _Is that so bad?"_

" _Yep, but you know what?" he asked with a little smile that she thought was so adorable._

" _No, what?" Elsie answered, standing a little in the bed, with the bed sheet tight around her. He put the bottle down on the tray and walked slowly to the bed, before putting in hands on the mattress next to her._

" _Because you are the prettiest, sexiest, most intelligent, and funniest woman in the world, and because you are mine, I don't mind if you have bad taste in wine." Elsie laughed slightly, before pulling him down for a kiss, and looked straight into his eyes._

" _Well, I'm a lucky woman. Because, indeed, I am all yours." Elsie kissed him again, and pulled him on top of her. Soon the bed sheets were all around the floor, and both of them forgot all about the wine._

"All finished!" Chloé said, startling Charles and putting him out of his dream.

" _And what a dream ... "_ he thought.

"How is the wine I chose?"

"Perfect, as always."

"Good. Shall we?" Chloé sat down at the table, Charles on the other side. They talked a little. She explained to him about her new project. Chloé was a photographer. She and Charles had met during one of his trips to France, for a conference. During lunch, he tried to explain to her the new case he was on, but she didn't listen.

" _A lawyer is boring. I know that now ..."_ he thought.

"Charles? Won't you compliment me on my meal today?"

"Yeah, sorry. That was delicious. Really, thank you." He tried to touch her hand, but before he had any chance to do it, she took him by surprise.

"And I'm sure you will like the dessert even more."

…...

Chloé had told him to make himself comfortable on the sofa, while she went fetch the dessert. She came back 10 minutes later, with a little, very little, negligée. She then sat on the sofa beside and him and took his face between her hands to kiss him.

"Charles, what's wrong ?" Chloé asked when she realised that his body didn't respond to her.

"Nothing, it's just … I must be tired and nervous about the trial next week." He bent down to kiss her. But then, she did something that made him stop the kiss. She moaned. She moaned loudly into his mouth. And that made him stop. Of course he stopped! That was Elsie's thing. To turn him on, or to annoy him. She was sexy and funny at the same time, so she used to do that...

He had kissed other women after his divorce, but none of them had done that. Or not that loudly, at least. And he stopped, because after the memory he had had just an hour ago and then that, it was too much. So he stopped the kiss.

Chloé was starting to be upset about all of this. It had been almost a month since the last time they had had sex. They didn't "make love." She was not in love with Charles, but he was nice and gentle, and knew how to do IT. It was so easy with him. She was attractive, and he always responded to her body. But not today, and she was vexed.

"You know what, Chloé? Maybe I should head back home and have a rest. I'm really tired... I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." They both stood up, and she took him to the door. When she opened the door, she kissed him sensually on the lips.

"Yeah, have a lie-down, and think about what you won't do to me today." Then, she closed the door. Strangely, Charles felt relief, and drove back home.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all your reviews! As I said, my exams are soon, but I really want to continue this story! I would like to thank all of the people that give my ideas and correct my mistakes.

If you have any ideas, or events that you would like see happen, please tell me!

Hope you will like this one!

…...

Elsie checked her watch for the third time. She took another sip of her wine and finished her glass. She was sitting at a restaurant table, close to the window.

"Hey, I'm sorry! I was at work and didn't see the time." Joe kissed her on the cheek before sitting in front of her.

"Well, this restaurant is great! Did you order?" Joe put his napkin on his lap and looked around him.

"Yeah, this is my favorite one. And no, I did not. I'm going to the toilets, won't be long." Elsie stood and put her hand on Joe's shoulder as she passed by him. She didn't want to be upset. It was not his fault... but he knew that they had a date today, so why was he late? Why didn't he check the time?

Elsie pushed open the toilet's door and put her purse down and her hands on the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had put her hair in a low bun and had put some make up on. Much more than usual. She breathed slowly to steady herself.

" _This is gonna be a nice evening Elsie. Calm down now."_

With that, she grabbed her purse and made her way back to her table. Then she saw it. Joe had ordered for her. There was a plate in front of him, and one was in front of her place. He was playing with his glass of wine.

"The waiter came while you were away. I know you don't like to choose the wine, so I ordered for the both of us. I hope you don't mind."

Elsie sat in shock but managed a very little smile as a memory came back in her mind.

" _Beryl, I'm there! Bye!"_

" _Bye, have a good date!"_

 _Elsie rolled her eyes. "That's not a date Beryl!"_

 _Beryl stayed silent a moment before asking, "What are your wearing?"_

 _Elsie blushed..."What? Beryl, please ..."_

" _What are you wearing!" Beryl insisted._

" _My navy blue dress." Beryl laughed on the phone. "Of course, she is..." Elsie thought._

" _What shoes?"_

" _Black shoes." Elsie blushed even more at the next question, because she knew that she was lost._

" _Make up?"_

" _Shit!" Elsie thought._

" _I... Well, I didn't have time so I just put some lipstick on."_

 _Beryl screamed down the phone before laughing out loud. "Well, now I'm telling you, that's a date. It will be perfect. Just don't forget to make him pass the 'ordering test'. Beryl warned her._

" _Yeah! I think this is ridiculous, but yes. Okay, I'm going now. Bye!"_

 _Elsie hung up, breathed and went into the restaurant._

 _She found Charles. His back to her, he was playing with his empty glass, and looking through the window. She walked to him, confidently. When he saw her, he stood up and fastened one of his jacket's buttons. They looked at each other silently for a second. Charles was in a suit. He looked really handsome, and she expected no less. And apparently, from the way he was looking at her, she must have looked attractive, too. She put her hand on his shoulder before she sat in front of him._

" _Am I late?" Charles shook his head and smiled._

" _No, no, I was here early. Elsie, you look... beautiful, really, beautiful." Elsie blushed and looked down at her empty plate._

" _You too, Charles. I mean, you look handsome." But Charles didn't blush or look down; he just looked straight at her. Elsie blushed even more and decided to put the test into action. Well, Beryl's test._

" _Please Charles, don't fail. Fuck Beryl! Why did I promise to do that?" Elsie screamed to herself._

 _Beryl had told her that a woman can know almost everything about a man in a restaurant. The woman just has to go to the toilets just at the moment when the waiter comes. You tell your date to choose for you, and then you go. You stay there for quite some time, and then_ _come back to the table. Then, there are two choices: ONE: your man has ordered for you, so now you know that he is self-confident and doesn't think very highly of your opinion. Or, TWO: he hasn't ordered for you, so you know that he is weak and can't make any decision alone._

 _With that, Elsie would know what kind of man Charles was._

" _Hello, are you ready to order?" The waitress was young and beautiful. And Elsie couldn't help feeling jealous. But Charles didn't even look at her. His eyes were stuck on Elsie._

" _I think so. What do you have as_ _starter_ _?" Elsie managed to ask, feeling Charles's look on her._

" _Today we have Ceasar salad, french foie gras, and big toast with salmon." The waitress finished._

" _Elsie, what do you want?"_

" _I have no idea. I really don't know. Everything seems great... I will go wash my hands. Why don't you choose for me, Charles?"_

 _But as Elsie was standing up, Charles turned his head to the waitress and said,"You know what? We won't choose. We will order the three." He turned his head to Elsie before adding, "We can share, all right?"_

 _The waitress nodded and made her way to the kitchen. Elsie was stunned. Charles looked at her and asked as he pointed the toilet's door:_

" _You go first? I will wash mine when you head back."_

 _Elsie smiled and went._

" _Oh my fucking god, what had just happened? He is so... So, I don't even know what he is, but I really, really like it."_

 _When he headed back to the table, he smiled and sat. They spent three hours in the restaurant, talking, laughing, flirting. Everything was perfect._

" _Thank you, Beryl!" Elsie thought when Charles drove her back home that night._

"I don't mind _,_ Joe, thank you." Elsie managed to answer. But Joe didn't catch the look on Elsie's face.

" _Hypocrite!"_ Elsie thought. _"If you don't mind, why are you so relieved that HE didn't pass the test."_


	5. Chapter 5

Hello! So here is the new chapter! Hope you will like it!

Thank you for all your messages; they're helping me a lot!

…...

"Hello," said Charles when he picked up his phone.

"Hi, Dad!" answered a young, feminine voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't recognize you."

Charles was having breakfast at his table. His newspaper now lay next to his cup of tea and toast.

"So, how are you?"

"Fine, but what about you? Are you okay? Your sister, too? Is everything alright over there?" Charles started to panic.

"Dad, please, I'm fine! I just have some news. Anna and I will come home this Saturday."

"Sybil, that's nice! Maybe I could take you and Anna out for dinner?" Charles was smiling. His girls were coming home.

"How long will you stay?"

"Just for the weekend." Charles was disappointed.

"Oh, okay..."

"Dad, it's almost the holidays., Anna and I will there the whole time."

"Yeah, sweetheart, I know. Will you drive or take the train?"

"Train."

"Do you want me to pick you up at the train station?"

"I don't know. Anna has to call mum today, so I will let you know..."

Charles had a good picture in mind. Elsie and him, hand in hand, going to pick up their daughters, and drive to THEIR home, talking and laughing.

"Right. Just send me a text soon and tell your mother that I don't mind picking you up."

Sybil stayed silent before adding.

"Speaking of mum, did you see her at Violet and Igor's party?"

Charles was a little taken aback by the question.

"Yes, yes, she was there. She came with Beryl and Bill."

"Were you with Chloé?"

"No! I mean, no, I was not." Charles was blushing.

"How was she?"

"Who?"

" _Surely she doesn't mean Chloé right?"_ Charles thought.

"Mum!"

"Oh, good, well, she seemed fine."

"Of course she was. Did you talk?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Right, I have to go. See you on Saturday then. Bye, Daddy."

"Okay, bye, sweetheart. Love you."

"Me, too." Then Sybil hung up.

Charles felt... weird. This call had been weird.

" _Okay, Sybil is coming, with her sister. She called me, and Anna will call Elsie. They're coming for the weekend. Nothing weird in that. But why did she ask all these questions? And that tone when she said, "Of course she was." What does that mean? Of course she was fine, because of what? Because of the party? Because of that man? Because she saw me?"_

Charles shook his head, and took a sip of his tea, now gone cold.

" _Stop dreaming, Charles. You see her sometimes, and that's enough. And as Sybil said, she is fine. She must even be happy. Maybe that guy is better than me..."_

Charles looked down at his phone. Chloé's number was on the screen.

"Hi, Chloé."

"Hey, do you feel better?" Chloé hadn't called him since he had escaped the day before.

"Much better, thank you. How are you? You're up early for a Monday."

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to call you before you head up for your office. I wanted to tell you that I have to take some pictures for a magazine next Monday, but I'll take the train on Sunday."

"Oh, okay. Well, my daughters are coming this Saturday. Maybe I can take you all for dinner?"

Charles regretted his words as soon as they came out his mouth. He had never really thought about Chloé meeting his girls.

Chloé was silent.

"You... You want me to meet your daughters?"

"I, well, I wanted to have dinner with you on Saturday, but I would like to see my daughters, too. They leave on Sunday."

Chloé seemed to think about it. Charles stayed silent. No matter what the answer would be, it would mean something in their relationship.

"Yes, why not?"

"Really? Well, I will pick you up at 7:00. Then we can get them."

Charles could hear Chloé's smile in her answer.

"Yeah, and after dinner, you can drive me home, where we can spend the night together, absolutely not asleep, and you can show me just how much you missed me."

Charles felt something inside. He didn't want to associate a dinner with his daughters and the promise of all night sex. A least not proposed like that, and not by Chloé.

" _And who do you think you'll spend the night with?"_ Charles thought. " _I_ _t's not like before when you took your girls out."_

When Sybil and Anna came back during their holidays, he would pick them up, take them to a restaurant, then a cinema, and sometimes, when they insisted, he would take them to a club. A club where his daughters danced together with his wife, and he would sit at the bar with a glass, watching them. And keeping an eye on men who would come too close to one of his girls. Especially the married one. He hated it, when guys came close to Elsie to dance. Took her hands and smiled at her, or worse, came behind her and put their hands on her hips. That made him so jealous. So angry. He never considered Elsie HIS propriety, she was not HIS thing. But yes, he was jealous.

He remembered one night at a club some years ago.

 _A guy was behind Elsie, dancing. Their daughters were dancing with other girls at the other end of the dance floor. This young man had his hands on Elsie's hips, almost on her tights. She had her arms up and was singing. She was a little drunk. Suddenly, the guy pressed her back against his chest, and his hands travelled to touch her bottom. Elsie turned around in his arms. She obviously wanted to push his hands off of her, but the guy took her arms and put them around his neck. At this moment, Charles stood up and was on the dance floor immediately. He pushed the guy on his chest rather roughly, but took care to not touch Elsie._

" _Hey! Keep calm, we did nothing wrong." The man was clearly drunk._

" _No, nothing wrong. Just keep your hands to yourself." Charles warned him._

" _She seemed to enjoy our dance, actually." Charles looked angrily at the guy. He felt Elsie's look on him, but decided to ignore it. He didn't want her to think that he was angry with her._

" _Dance, yes, but you wanted more than a simple dance, right?"_

" _Well, she is kinda hot..." The young man looked at Elsie with a smile that he probably thought was sexy. But she tried to contain her laugh._

" _Yeah, I know that. She is kinda my wife." Charles took Elsie's hand and led her to the bar._

 _That night when they got home, Elsie and Charles made love. Not tenderly, not roughly, just passionately. Charles whispering, "I love you. I love you so much," to Elsie's neck. And Elsie moaning, "I'm yours, I'm all yours," in Charles's ear._

When Chloé realised that Charles wasn't going to answer she laughed.

"Okay, so see you Saturday night, Charles. Bye."

With that, she hung up. Charles stared at his phone.

"Bloody hell! This day will be weird."


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for all your kind messages!

(And by the way, I don't like Chloé, or Joe, either but I will, unfortunately, keep them for a while I'm afraid...)

First exam last Monday, writing is helping me a looot!

Reviews are always welcome, and helpful!

...

"Ouch!" Elsie screamed. "Oh, hello baby girl."

"Mum, are you alright?"

Elsie put her burnt finger under the water and her phone on speaker.

"Yeah! I just burnt myself. My ringtone startled me."

"Sorry." Anna apologized.

"Don't worry sweetheart. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you that Sybil and I are coming home this weekend."

"Oh, really! That's great!"

"Could we sleep at your house?"

"Sure, but it _is_ just the two of you?"

"Yeah, John couldn't come."

Elsie turned off the water and grabbed a towel to put around her finger.

"Are you coming by train?"

"Yes, on Saturday."

"Do you want me to pick you up? I'm not at work." Elsie checked her calendar.

"Well, Sybil had called Dad and he said that he doesn't mind picking up us.

Elsie remembered when she and Charles used to go to the train station to put their girls on or pick them up from the train.

"Okay, well… Tell him that he can drive you here."

"Right. Anyway, how are you?"

"Fine!"

"How is Joe?"

Elsie stayed silent.

" _Joe? Well Joe is fine. Me, on the other hand… I'm starting to ask myself why we are together. He is nice, funny sometimes, in bed he is good, nothing too earthshaking, but nice..."_ Elsie wanted to answer. But instead she just said.

"Good. But how are _you_?"

"Great! Did you go to Igor and Violet's party?"

"Yes. With Beryl and Bill."

"Did you see dad?"

Elsie stopped for a moment.

"Yes, he was there."

"Did you talk?"

" _What kind of question is that?"_ Elsie thought.

"Just a little."

"Were you with Joe?"

"Sweetheart, I didn't know that you became a police officer." Elsie joked. Anna laughed.

She wasn't really annoyed by Anna's questions, she just didn't know where she was heading with them.

"No, Joe was not there. Oh, I didn't ask you, how long are you staying?" Elsie tried to change the subject.

"Just for the weekend."

Elsie was disappointed.

"Oh, right."

"Don't worry mum, we will come back during the holidays."

Elsie smiled. Anna and Sybil were grown up but couldn't stay away from home for very long.

"I'm glad."

"Mum, I have to go..."

"Alright, goodbye sweetheart, see you this weekend. Love you."

"Yeah, love you too."

Elsie hung up before putting her eggs on her plate.

" _My babies are coming home. Charles will pick them up. Will he take this woman with him? Stop that Elsie, that's none of your business."_

But she just couldn't help herself. She wondered if this woman was fine with him, if she did things that Elsie only used to do. Like woke him in the morning by playing with his hair, curly from his sleep. Or put her arms around his waist from behind and kiss the back of his neck. Or even worse, if Charles did things to that woman that he did only with her. Like playing with her hair late at night when he was still awake. Or the way he nipped her bottom lip. She always moaned but laughed every time he did that. Nipping at her lip had been something that she had done since she was a little girl. Beryl had noticed it, Isobel too, probably even Joe now, but only Charles had played with it. When she bit her lip, Charles would come close to her and nip it with his own teeth.

" _And what he said after."_ Elsie thought.

The memory did something to her stomach, and even a little lower.

Each time that Charles released her lip he would whisper into her ear.

" _Darling, if you want to hurt that lip, please, let me do it."_

" _Fuck Elsie, what are you doing? Stop that."_

But Elsie felt suddenly jealous. What if Charles does that with his new girlfriend. What if she liked it, what if it made them laugh and ended with a roll in the hay.

But her thoughts were interrupted by her phone.

"Hello Elsie."

"Hi Joe, how are you?"

"Good, very good actually. I wanted to invite you for dinner on Saturday night."

Elsie stayed silent for a moment. Her daughters would be there on Saturday night. Did she want Joe to meet her girls? And then, the picture of Charles nipping at his girlfriend's lip during their… well…. sexual romps came to her mind, and she heard herself saying.

"Yes, with pleasure Joe. But my daughters will be there on Saturday, so you..."

"So I will meet your beautiful daughters. I will pick you up at 8:00. Alright?"

"Yes, yes."

"Okay, put on a beautiful dress and some make up. I want you to look amazing, I'll take you to a new place."

"Oh, okay."

"Fine, good bye Elsie."

"Bye, Joe."

Then Joe hung up. Did he just ask her to be beautiful? Did he not think that she was always beautiful? It made her a little angry…

Then, a memory came in her mind.

" _I'm sorry. Just two seconds… Mrs Carson here, what can I do for you?"_

" _Mrs, hmm? That's too bad..."_

" _Charles? Is everything alright?"_

" _Sure! Am I not allowed to call my wife at work?"_

" _Of course you are, but I am with some clients actually."_

" _Oh, okay. Well just wanted to tell you that I made a reservation for tonight, at 7:00. So you come home, throw on whatever clothes and shoes that you find and wait for your wonderful husband to pick you up."_

" _Excuse me ..." Elsie apologized to her clients._

 _She stood and took the phone to the back of the agency. She was smiling._

" _What? But Charles, what about the girls?"_

" _I called Isobel. Everything is under control. I just want to have you for myself for one night. To be a very selfish husband and hide you from anybody we might know. So, what do you say?"_

 _Elsie stayed silent, as if she was balancing the pros and cons._

" _Well, I say that I don't mind at all having a very selfish husband for one night. But it's a very dangerous thing to say that I don't even have to choose my clothes, I might put on a potato sack..."_

 _Charles laughed and hung up._

 _That night, he was waiting for her outside, leaning against his car. She kissed her daughters and went out. The moment he saw her, a big smile appeared on his face._

" _Very nice potato sack, Mrs Carson."_

 _He bent down to kiss her. She deepened the kiss a little, his hands trailing down her spine. She smiled against his lips._

" _After you, Mrs Carson."_

 _He opened her door._

" _Thank you, Mr Carson."_

"Well, Joe, you will soon see that I can be very beautiful...".


	7. Chapter 7

Exams finished !

But I think THIS is my last update before my holidays (So don't kill me for the ending of this one…). I'm going in the Canary Islands for three weeks, and I won't have Internet. So my next chapter will be there in August … Don't give up on me, please !

….

"Sybil, did you read that?"

Anna and Sybil were on the train for home. They were sitting in front of each other, next to the window. Anna gave her magazine to Sybil.

"It's an article about this new kind of hotel. You know, we saw it on TV one morning."

"Yeah, I remember. Oh, this one is in France. North of France. Well, that looks scary, don't you think?"

Anna laughed at her sister.

"Yeah, because it's raining in the picture; however, that looks definitely cold. Where is it? I didn't read it."

"Hmm… Bre… Bretagne. Northwest. And that can't be colder than England. France, even the North, is south for us. But I will ask Mum."

Anna looked up from her own book and smiled.

"Mum doesn't know everything you know…"

Sybil laughed and kicked her sister.

"I know, but she is a travel agent. She could know the climate in Bretagne.

"I'm sure she could."

The two sisters stayed silent, each in her own book. Then, the speakers switched on and told them that they were at their destination. Sybil was the first on her feet.

"Go on; Daddy will be there already.'

She quickly took her bag. She always had been closer to their father, whereas Anna was closer to their mother. But the sisters were close to each other, and that was what mattered.

"Daddy, hmm…"

"Oh, just shut up and move."

Charles had been at the station for 15 minutes. He had a tea in hands when the train stopped. He quickly finished it and tried to find his daughters in the crowd.

"Hello, Dad!" the two sisters screamed at the same time.

"Hi, girls! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"

Charles took his girls in his arms before he took their suitcases.

"My car is just there. Come this way. How was your trip?"

"Good." Anna answered.

"Shorter than by car…" Sybil added.

Charles put their bags in the car trunk and laughed when he realized that his daughters were playing a game to choose which one of them would sit in the front with him.

"Shit."

"Sybil, don't swear, please." Charles warned.

"Sorry…"

Anna laughed and climbed in the car in the front, next to her father.

"May I switch the radio on?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

"No, nothing. We want to relax and sleep 13 hours a night."

Anna laughed at her sister. Sybil modified.

"Well, _I_ want to relax and sleep 13 hours a night."

Charles laughed openly.

During the travel, they talked about nothing and everything. Charles felt peaceful to have his girls here, even if one was missing.

"Hmm… girls? I have something to ask you."

"You look very serious. Is everything okay, Dad?"

Both Sybil and Anna started to panic.

"Yeah! I just… I wondered if… if you two, would like to meet Chloé? I mean not now, but during the weekend, or the next time you come, or…"

Anna looked at her sister in the rear-view mirror to check if Sybil had the same opinion that she did. Sybil smiled at her. Charles had his eyes stuck on the road.

Anna answered: "Yes, why not?"

"If it's important to you, we will be glad to meet her." Sybil added.

Charles wanted to say that no, it was not really important to him, that he didn't mind if Chloé would not meet them. But because his mouth had said something that his mind hadn't yet thought about, he had to make sure that his daughters would be okay about meeting his girlfriend. Girlfriend! Even to him it was a teenager's word.

" _But when you have sex with someone without being in love, you're a teenager, right? A teenager or an asshole."_ Charles thought.

But Charles knew that Chloé wasn't in love with him.

" _Just friends with benefits."_

Charles had heard his daughters talked about it once and had been shocked about the notion behind it. But now that he was in this situation, he realized that, well, it could happen sometimes.

" _As long as the two agree."_

"Dad, you're still here?"

"Yes, yes, sorry. And thank you sweethearts."

Charles parked his car in front of Elsie's house.

"Okay, here you go. Do you want me to help you with your bags?" Charles asked.

Both girls nodded. He climbed out of his car, and opened Sybil's door, while Anna was searching for her mother's keys in her purse.

Charles looked at the house in front of him. It was small.

" _So much smaller than ours when we were married. Well, it was helping when we were avoiding each other."_ He sighed to himself.

"Do you want to come in?" Sybil asked when she noticed how her father was looking hopefully at the door.

"No, no. I don't want to disturb you. I'm sure you'll have lots to say to each other. Okay, so, call me when you have a bit of free time. Right?"

Charles kissed his daughters goodbye and started walking in the direction of his car.

"Daddy, wait!"

Sybil ran into her father's arms.

"We will call you, I promise. And she is probably not home."

"I know sweetheart. Don't worry. I'm glad you're both here."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head. Sybil looked up at him. Charles looked Anna and gave her a big smile. She responded with a smile and put her hand on her sister's back when she returned near her. Charles climbed back in his car, smiled at them one last time, and drive home.

Anna turned the lock open.

"Mum?" Sybil asked.

Elsie ran out of her office and hugged both Anna and Sybil close.

"Hello, my girls! I'm sorry I didn't hear you coming. I had music on. Did you make it okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine." Anna answered.

"Is your father parking his car?"

Elsie took her daughter's bags while she asked, so she didn't see the look between the sisters.

"No, actually. He left. He knew that we would have a lot to tell so he didn't want to disturb us." Anna answered.

Elsie almost dropped the bags. Since their divorce, well, since they were well in their divorce, Charles always stopped for a tea when he left their daughters at her home.

" _Why is this time different from the others?"_

Each time, she would open the door and say hello, ask him to come in for a minute. He would refuse. She would insist. He would say yes. And, for the time of an hour, it would be just like before, talking about anything and everything. Laughing about Anna's stories at school; and Sybil's at the hospital. No divorce, no lawyers, no tears and shouting.

Then, Elsie realized:

" _I wasn't there to greet them. He thought he wasn't welcome today. He thought… no, no,no… he thought I didn't want to see him anymore. Oh, but Charles how wrong you are…"_


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone! So as you see I'm back from my holidays so I will be able to send some chapters. I already have a few written. This is the longest one that I've written so far!

Can't wait to have your impressions!

…

"Which one of you chose that movie?"

Elsie was sitting on her sofa, with Sybil's head on her lap and Anna's head on her shoulder. The three of them were crying their eyes out.

"I really don't know…"

"Oh, you …" Elsie blew her nose and passed her hand through Sybil's hair. Anna had wanted to watch a movie for their first afternoon together; Sybil had searched in their mother's library and had chosen a classic one. In fact, she had chosen her mother's favorite: Children of Paradise, _Les enfants du Paradis_ , a very old French movie. Elsie had watched it a billion times. Unfortunately, Elsie would never be prepared for the ending.

" _Anna and Sybil are young. They can cry over a movie like this, about a love story like this… But I'm far too old for that…"_ Elsie thought.

Suddenly, the first notes of Earth, Wind and Fire turned on.

"Hello?"

" _Sybil, are you crying_ _,_ _sweetheart?"_ Charles panicked.

"No, yes… But don't worry, Dad. I was just watching a movie with Anna and Mum." Sybil blew her nose.

" _Oh, you didn't do that to you mother, did you?"_

"What?"

" _You didn't make your Mum watch HER movie?"_

"Well, we…" But she couldn't finish because Charles had interrupted her.

" _You did! Not nice of you young girls…"_

Sybil laughed through her tears.

Charles remembered the very first time that he and Elsie had watched this movie.

 _They were sitting on their old sofa, in their new flat. Anna was not here yet. He had opened a bottle of wine while she switched on the TV. Charles had bet that she would be crying before the end_ _;_ _she was arguing, telling him that she would not. But Charles knew her… At the end of the first hour, Elsie was lying against Charles's side. He had his arm around her shoulders and was playing with her hair. Elsie tried to hide her tears by wiping them with her hands. Charles felt her quiet sobs_ _,_ _but he didn't want to say anything about it. Teasing or not, he hated to see her crying. Carefully, he stretched his arm behind him and caught a handkerchief that he gave to her._

" _Don't tease." She warned after she had blown her nose._

" _I didn't intent to_ _,_ _darling." He kissed the top of her head and put his hand in her hair again. Till the end of the movie, Elsie didn't hide her tears and cried into Charles's chest. He didn't mock her_ _;_ _he didn't want to. So he just held her close and kissed her from time to time_.

"I know…"

" _Well, I'm sorry to disturb you. I tried to call Anna but she didn't answer…"_

"Yes, I think her phone is in her room. Do you want to talk to her?"

' _Yes, please. I have a question to ask her about John's new case."_

"Alright. Bye, Daddy."

" _Bye_ _,_ _sweetheart."_

Elsie's heart was beating fast and hard in her chest. HER phone was in her bedroom. Did Charles want to talk to her? But Elsie's hopes were destroyed when Sybil passed the phone to her sister.

"Hello, Dad."

Anna stood from the sofa and went into the kitchen. She came back only a few minutes later.

"What did he want?" Sybil asked.

"Oh, he had a question about John's new case, but I didn't know the answer. So I gave him John's number."

"You're lucky that Dad likes your boyfriend."

Elsie looked up from the magazine that she was looking at, but before she could make any comments, Anna answered.

"Well, they are both lawyers, so it helped a little… But don't you remember at the beginning? Dad was overprotective and very anxious about the fact that John is older …"

"Sybil? Did you meet someone, sweetheart?" Elsie asked gently.

Sybil looked at her mother and bit her bottom lip, in a habit much like her mother's…

"I did."

Elsie smiled and closed her book. Sybil and Anna both smiled back. Their mother was comprehensive. They could talk about absolutely everything, even embarrassing things…

"A name, maybe?"

"Tom."

"Tom." Elsie repeated. "And you think that your father won't like him?"

Sybil looked at her sister.

"Well, it's just that Sybil thinks that it will be hard for Dad to accept Tom, harder than John."

Sybil mouthed an "Oh, yes!"

"Well, hard or not, if it's serious your Dad won't have the choice… Is it serious?

"Yes!" Sybil answered.

Elsie looked at her daughters and bent a little closer to her.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." Sybil blushed but didn't look back.

Elsie smiled and turned to her elder daughter.

"I imagine that you have met him?"

"I did. John, too."

"And what did you think of him?"

Anna grinned at her sister before answering.

"Nice, very nice actually. Very polite and funny. He is very in love with Sybil. He looks at her like she was a candy… And he is very handsome."

The blush on Sybil's cheeks came back, and the three of them laughed.

"Okay, so if you love each other very much, which is apparently the case, you must tell your mother all about him!" Sybil laughed. "And you must tell me why you're thinking that your father will dislike him."

"Well, first at all, he is not English…"

Elsie arched an eyebrow at her daughter. Anna was smiling.

"Hardly a crime, sweetheart. I'm Scottish and your father married me. And he seems to enjoy other cultures at the moment anyway…"

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"Nothing…"

"Tom is Irish… And I'm afraid about his job…"

"What about his job?" Elsie asked a little panicked.

Sybil bit her lip again. "He is a musician."

Elsie laughed gently.

"Oh, I see. That's why… Sybil, your father played in a band to pay for his studies, and bad things happened to him during that time. But that doesn't mean that he won't like Tom because he wants to be a musician all of his life. Is he good?"

"He is extraordinary…"

"Anyway, you seem happy, so I'm happy, and your father will be happy for you too. Tell me, how did you meet?"

"Well, he played in the bar just in front of the hospital one night. We talked, and… Well, I won't say it was love at first sight, but, almost." She turned to her sister. "Like you and John." Anna nodded and Sybil turned to her mother. "Or like you and Dad."

Elsie opened her eyes wide. Not because of the comment, but because it was absolutely wrong.

"Excuse me? You think you're father and I had a 'love at first sight' love story? Well that's wrong… Who told you that?"

The sisters looked at each other.

"Violet, I think…" Anna answered.

Elsie laughed.

"I see. Well, no, it was not love at first sight. When we first met he found me touchy and vain, and I found him very self-confident and selfish."

"Daddy?" Sybil asked very surprised.

"Yes… Daddy." Elsie teased.

"Could you tell us how you met? Unless you don't want to." Anna asked gently.

"No, no. I can tell you. It's a good memory now." Elsie smiled.

" _Beryl, I really don't know why I came."_

" _Elsie, you promised me."_

" _Yes, but I don't know why I did it. You're going to see your future boyfriend… I should not have come."_

" _But you did. And if you're bored, you could always watch the cricket match."_

" _I don't know the rules, Beryl, and anyway I…"_

 _But before Elsie could finish her sentence, she bumped violently against someone._

" _Shit!" Elsie looked up at the man in front of her. He was tall, very tall, with curly black hair. He had very bright brown eyes, and his white shirt was now brown with coffee._

" _Oh, Charles! I'm sorry." Beryl apologized._

" _Baby, are you alright?" the tall black-haired girl who was hand in hand with Charles asked. He nodded in her direction before turning to Beryl. Elsie was about to make her apology when he spoke._

" _That's not your fault, Beryl… But you, you could pay attention to where you're going. You ruined my shirt and burnt me!" he said angrily to Elsie._

" _What! Excuse me, but you, too, could watch where you're going. I've ruined my dress and burnt myself, too, alright!" Elsie answered, her accent strong with anger._

 _Charles turned to Alice, who had her hands on his arms, before asking_ _,_ _"Alice, could you go and try to find me another shirt, and a warm, wet towel? Because Beryl's friend probably wanted to kill me."_

" _My name is Elizabeth!" If a look could have killed, Charles would have been dead._

" _Whatever!"_

 _Elsie was shaking with anger, but before she could answer, the well-dressed, well-coiffed and well-manicured girlfriend spoke._

" _Yes, no problem, my Charlie. Don't move."_

 _She kissed him on the cheek and was gone. Elsie rolled her eyes._

" _Don't do that!" Charles said angrily to Elsie._

" _Don't do what!" She snapped back._

" _Roll your eyes at her!"_

" _Yeah, why should I? She seemed happy to be your maid! Well done, Charlie boy! You've trained her well. You snapped your fingers, and she is running to fetch you a clean shirt with a kiss and a smile!"_

 _Charles took a step closer and pointed a finger in Elsie's direction. He was red with anger. Beryl was watching the scene with interest but said nothing, afraid to be the next subject of anger. Elsie snatched Charles's finger away._

" _Who the hell do you think you are? I've never even seen you here before! And you attack me and my girlfriend with your bloody shitty accent !"_

" _Fuck you!" Without thinking, Elsie threw what was left of her coffee into Charles's face and walked away, Beryl on her heels._

 _Charles wiped his face with the sleeve of his very ruined shirt and went searching for Alice._

"Ouah!" Why did you two never tell us that story?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, that's an amazing story when you consider how the story ends." Sybil added.

Elsie arched an eyebrow at her youngest.

"No, not the divorce. Your wedding, I mean."

"I know. Well, if your remark is that your father and I were absolutely not made for being together in the first place, then you're right."


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for your reviews! It's good to know what you think about! And don't worry, we will know why they divorced… but we will know it in time.

…..

"Mum?"

"In my bedroom, Sybil."

Sybil opened the door of her mother's bedroom. Elsie was on her bed, her computer on her lap. She had her glasses on and papers all around her.

"Hmm, Mary called us, and she wanted to know if we can go out with them tonight."

Elsie looked up quickly from her computer.

"Them?"

"Mary, Matthew, Edith, and some other friends."

"Okay, and … ?" Elsie already had her eyes back on her screen.

"May we go?"

This time she did look up, laughed, and took her glasses off.

"Sybil, even if I appreciate that you're asking for permission, you are grown up now. I hardly have something to say…"

"Yes, but we don't know what time we will come back, and it's your house so…"

"So you will have to be quiet and not wake up your poor, old mother."

She didn't have the time to put her glasses back on before Anna was entering her bedroom.

"Poor, old mother who has a date with her boyfriend tonight…"

Elsie let her glasses drop on the bed and looked at her daughters who both had smiles on their lips.

"What? How on earth do you know that?"

"We heard you on your phone telling someone that yes, you will be ready when he will come, and that yes, your amazing daughters had arrived safe," Anna answered with a smile.

"Amazing daughters, hmm? Anyway, yes I have a dinner tonight, with Joe."

Sybil smiled before asking, "Why are you not ready then?"

"Oh, because my amazing daughters have been in the bathroom for the last two hours!"

The three of them laughed.

"Well, I put a dress on, and we're off, so you may go to the shower now."

"Oh, thank you so much, girls. Don't forget to take your keys and to close the door when you leave. Don't drink too much and…"

"We got it Mum! Same speech since we were 16."

"Alright, I'm sorry…" Elsie put her papers in order and closed her computer. She kissed both her girls before she headed to the bathroom.

She switched on her IPod, a present from her girls for Mother's Day. As she started to unpin her hair, she heard Sybil's teasing voice from the other side of the door.

"We're off Mum! Won't be here before 3 or 4 AM at least, so… enjoy your evening…"

Elsie didn't answer, just laughed at the cheek of her daughter, that she had inherited from… well… her mother.

"Goodnight, mum!" Anna added, Elsie could hear the smile in her daughter's voice.

"Bye, girls!"

Elsie put on an automatic playlist and started to undress. She checked the clock; she had one and half hours before Joe would be there.

"God, I must be quick!"

She turned on the water on and started washing her hair. She put her head back and enjoyed the hot water on her head and back.

" _Charles! Shit! You scared me!" Elsie turned at the sound of the shower curtain being opened._

 _Charles put his arms around her waist and smiled down gently at her._

" _Really? I'm sorry… Were you waiting for someone else?"_

 _Elsie laughed and stopped to look at him. HER husband. Her husband, naked with her in the shower, with water running down his body, his hair, his chest…_

 _Before Charles could add something, Elsie threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. To maintain their balance Charles let one arm around her waist and put the other one against the wall. When their kiss deepened even more Charles, with the want to have his hands free, lifted Elsie up and pushed her against the cold wall of the shower. Elsie gasped loudly at the sensation._

Elsie opened her eyes suddenly.

"Bloody hell! Focus, Elsie! You can't always let memories come back…"

She finished her shower and put a towel around her and in her damp hair. She opened her closet and sat on her bed. After 10 minutes of reflexion, she jumped on her feet.

"Alright! Let's go!"

She took her new pair of knickers and bra and chose a maroon dress before returning to the bathroom.

She was five minutes late on her timing. "Well, I never knew how to be on time."

" _Why are you not dressed?" Elsie asked as she closed the front door._

" _Well, I'm not naked, am I?" Charles answered amused._

" _No, but I mean that it's almost 7.15 pm, that Violet and Igor are waiting for us at 8 pm and you're still sitting here, working. Charles, I don't want to be late…"_

" _We won't be late." Charles answered without looking up._

" _Okay, so go and put your nice ass in a tux, Mr. Carson." Elsie said confidently._

 _This time, Charles did look up. He closed the file he was working on and stood up, walking close to Elsie, who was biting her lip._

" _But if I'm seeing well, you're not dressed for tonight, either."_

 _Charles and Elsie were close to each other now. She looked up at him._

" _Well, I'm not naked, am I?" She tried to bite back a smile. Charles considered her for a moment before bending down and putting his arms around her thighs, throwing her on his right shoulder._

" _No, but that can be resolved, Ms Hughes."_

 _Elsie was still laughing when Charles threw her on their bed._

 _They were late that night._

Elsie smiled to herself in the mirror.

"WE never knew how to be on time…"

She shook her head and started putting on her dress. She then turned around and opened her make-up case. She put some blush on before putting her lipstick on. She put some black on her eyes; with it, her eyes were a deep shade of blue. Just like she liked.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

"Not so bad…" She smiled a little.

She unclipped her hair and passed her hand through it. She was taking her brush when she heard a knock on the door. Elsie quickly looked at the clock: 7.40 pm.

"He is early… I can't go there with my hair like that…" Elsie thought before shouting. "The door is open! I'm coming!"

She started brushing her hair. She heard the front door being opened, and then closed.

"Elsie?"

She stopped her movement. Her heart skipped a beat, and then started beating very fast and hard in her chest. She put her brush down and made her way to her living room. She opened the door and he was there. His back to her, his hands in the pockets of his tux. He was looking around and he turned at the sound of the door being closed. He was looking at the floor so when he turned, the first thing he saw was her bare feet and it made him smile. She had her eyes glued to him and his smile made her smile. She then asked very slowly, "Charles, what are you doing here?"


	10. Chapter 10

Hello! Thank you for all your reviews! I'll try to respond to them. YES! HE WILL TAKE HER BACK (I HOPE)! Joe and Chloé will be there for a few more chapters and then I will kill them! (No, I'm not that awful.) And Jaxa, I swear that you will know why they divorced… but in time. But I'll give you a clue if you want: it's a chain of events… (Not helpful…)

I swear that I am updating as fast as I can, and I know that my beta is doing her best. And I'm French, so don't forget that we work rather… Slowly !

….

"Charles, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you but…"

Charles finally looked up to Elsie and could not finish his sentence. She blushed because of his intense stare. It had been a long time since anyone had look at her like that. In fact, if she was honest with herself, nobody but Charles had ever looked at her like that: like she was the only thing in the room, the only woman on earth.

Charles shook his head.

"… But you said it was open, so I…"

"I know."

Elsie smiled gently before asking in a more neutral tone, "Is there anything you wanted?"

Charles answered in the same tone as Elsie. "Yes, I wanted to invite the girls to dinner tonight."

"Oh, well, they went out. I wanted to invite them, too, actually. But it seems that a party is more appealing than a dinner with their old parents."

They laughed together.

"Alright, well, I will leave you then. You're obviously going out, too."

"Absolutely not… I was just doing the washing up," Elsie said as she smiled up at him.

"Yeah, you've always done it in that kind of attire." Charles smiled back. Their eyes locked.

 _Charles yawned before turning on his side. Elsie was not in bed, but he could hear noises in their kitchen. He put his hand where her body had been during the night. It was still warm and, of course, smelled like her. He smiled and buried his face in her pillow and took a long breath. There. Now he could start his day. He bent down to pick up his undershorts and put them on._

 _Elsie had her back to him and her hands in the sink, where she was washing a plate. There was a little steam around her. Her hair was in a low bun, and she wore Charles's shirt. She was humming a song, and she obviously didn't hear him coming. He walked quietly behind her and put both hands on her bottom. She jumped and gasped at the touch but Charles didn't take his hands back._

" _Yes? Are you looking for something, Charles?"_

" _No, just checking."_

" _Checking what?" Elsie smiled._

" _That you're really here," Charles said with his face half in her hair and half in her neck. Elsie dried her hands on a towel before turning in his arms. His arms went to her waist and hers around his neck._

" _I'm really here. First morning in our flat."_

 _He pushed her gently against the sink._

" _I'm so glad we're here Els…"_

 _She kissed him tenderly. He put her on the counter. She kissed him and stopped._

" _Show me how glad you are Charlie."_

 _And he did just that._

Charles was the first to look down at the floor. At the memory, his heartbeat had accelerated. Elsie had obviously thought about the same thing because she was blushing.

"Well, I'll go now. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Elsie."

"That's no trouble, I promise. I'll tell the girls that you came. They will be happy."

"Okay, thank you."

Charles didn't move. He could tell that Elsie had something to say.

"I… I'm…"

Charles took a step toward her.

"Yes, Elsie?"

She was biting her lip. Charles looked down at him and she caught his look. She took a quick breath; she was feeling a heat within her.

"I… I'm glad that I've seen you. I'm glad to see you. And I know I was not there to meet you when you left the girls here, but I was here. I was working, so I didn't hear your, car and you didn't knock so… But that doesn't mean I didn't want you here, so what I'm trying to say is…"

Charles had taken a step even closer and put his hands on her shoulders. They looked at each other.

"I know Elsie, I know. And I'm glad to see you too."

"Are you?" That was out before she even had the time to think about it.

Charles closed his eyes, took a breath, and reopened his eyes. He found the same look he had always known, the eyes he liked – loved - so much. And he smiled.

"Elsie, you will never know how glad I am to see you. Even for five minutes…"

At this moment, they both realized that they were close to each other. One of Charles's hands traveled from Elsie's shoulder to her cheek. Elsie's breathing quickened. Charles watched her closed her eyes and felt her let her cheek rest more firmly against his palm. He bent down and put his lips against her cheek very slowly. He lingered there longer than was necessary. He could smell her perfume and felt her skin under his lips. And it seemed so fine. When Charles took a step back, Elsie could still feel where his lips had been; it was on fire.

When Charles spoke, his voice was so low that Elsie could actually feel it.

"I really hope he deserves you, Elsie, because tonight you're… you're breathtaking."

Elsie blushed but kept her eyes on him. When Elsie thought about their married life, she realized that Charles had always been good with compliments. They were always unexpected, so she was often taken aback. He really could say the sweetest thing at really innappropriate moments. Actually, that's why she had fallen in love with him, because he was unpredictable. When they first met, Elsie had found him so annoying, and he had found her so confident that it became a hate-love relationship.

"I hope _she_ deserves _you_ , Charles. I want you to be happy. I want us to be happy."

"Elsie, I…"

"Elsie, there is someone parked in front of… Oh, good evening."

Joe had opened the door and closed it so fast that neither Charles nor Elsie had heard it. On top of that, Joe was not used to the "knocking" thing.

"I'm Joe Burns, the boyfriend."

Charles wanted to roll his eyes, but contained himself. _"What kind of man at his age presents himself as someone's 'boyfriend'?"_ Charles shook Joe's hand anyway. "I'm Charles Carson, the ex-husband."

Elsie bit very hard on her lip, both because of worry and to contain her smile. Joe let go of Charles's hand and turned finally to Elsie. He looked her up and down.

"Ouah! Very nice, Beth!" He kissed her soundly on the lips. Charles looked down quickly at his shoes.

"I'm so thirsty! Going to take a drink. Do you want one, Beth?" Elsie shook her head. "You, Charles?"

"No, thank you."

Joe passed behind Elsie to go to the kitchen. He patted her bottom as he went and Elsie blushed furiously. Charles was so taken aback that he forgot to blink for several seconds. Just when he was about to go, Joe returned with a large glass of whisky in his hand.

"Nice car you have, mate."

"Oh, yes, I like it."

"And may I know why you're here?"

"Joe! Charles wanted to invite the girls to dinner, so he came to fetch them, but they are at a party, and anyway he…"

Joe smiled and put an arm around Elsie's waist. He kissed her temple.

"I know, babe, just kidding. So you, too, are taking your girlfriend out."

"I… Yes, Chloé and I are going to restaurant."

"That's nice." Joe smiled before turning to Elsie, who was looking at the floor. "By the way, you should finish with your hair and everything. The place where I'm taking you does not tolerate tardiness."

"Alright, I'll be on my way, then. Joe, nice to have met you." The two men shook hands.

"Yeah, me too." Joe headed to in the kitchen, and Charles didn't really know if it was to wash his glass or to take another one. Charles turned to Elsie who had been quite quiet during the meeting.

"Have a good evening." He did want to say something nicer or to add "Elsie" at the end. But now that he had heard Joe called her "Beth," he realized that perhaps " _Elizabeth"_ preferred it. He bent down to kiss her cheek quickly, but this kiss was nothing compared to the one they had shared earlier.

Elsie didn't have the time to respond, Charles was already outside.

"I do hate this guy," Charles thought.

He took a breath and walked to the car where Chloé was waiting for him, smoking a cigarette, leaning against his car. When she heard him coming, she turned and smiled. She threw her cigarette on the ground and climbed in the car. Charles did the same. While he was putting on his belt, he felt Chloé's hand on his lap.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked at her for a second. She looked worried, and Charles didn't really know if he liked it or not.

"I am. Let's get some dinner." He smiled and came closer to give her a kiss. Chloé put her free hand on his cheek and smiled against his lips.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello ! Here is new chapter. I hope you will like it ! Please, don't hate me for this chapter… I swear that things will move in the next ones !

(60 reviews ! Can't believe it ! Thank you so much !)

...

Charles held the door open for Chloé. She was looking at the ceiling, clearly impressed.

"Mr Carson. I have a reservation."

"Yes, the table for four that became two?" the young waiter asked shyly.

"Yes, that's it." Charles had asked to Chloé to call the restaurant during the trip.

"This way, please."

Charles turned to Chloé and let her walk before him. He put his hand in the small of her back. Chloé looked at him and smiled. She was wearing heels and was almost as tall as him. He smiled back at her. It was the first time that he was dating a woman that tall and he rather liked it.

" _Sometimes…"_

Charles let Chloé sit before he sat himself in front of her.

"Charles, this place is amazing! Thank you for inviting me." She patted his hand. "I'm sorry that your daughters could not come though."

"It's alright. I'm glad you're here." He squeezed her knuckles with his thumb.

"Charles, are you really okay? I mean, you stayed a long time with your ex-wife and then I saw her boyfriend coming in. I know we never discuss it, but it's not because I don't care about you…"

Charles stayed silent for a moment. He was not in love with Chloé, but seeing Elsie happy with her boyfriend made him realize that it was probably time to give Chloé a chance.

"Chloé, I won't lie to you. It's hard to see her. We have spent lot of years together. We were friends before we were married and knew each other even before been friends, and now… Well, it's weird to see her with someone else, that she seems happy with… that we're no longer a family…" Charles squeezed her hand again, and Chloé nodded. He shook his head. "Do you want some wine?" Charles changed the subject.

"Yes, please. And I'm famished, maybe we could order at the same time?"

"Absolutely."

Charles called the waiter. They ordered, and Charles excused himself and made his way to the toilets. When he came back, their glasses were filled were filled with wine. Chloé stood, bent down to kiss his cheek and went to wash her hands. Charles was drinking when she sat back. Charles and Chloé were chatting when something caught her eyes.

A couple just came into the restaurant. The woman had taken off her coat, and it was her maroon dress that Chloé had noticed. When she looked up and saw who the woman was, her eyes widened, but she quickly recovered. She didn't want Charles to notice her. Chloé had seen Elsie on some pictures that he'd shown her.

" _She is beautiful… But I'm younger. And, she let him go. Her loss, my gain…"_ Chloé continued to smile at Charles. She would not let his ex-wife ruin their evening together.

One of the waiters led the couple to a table. Chloé tried to not look too much, afraid that Charles would notice. Where the other couple was sitting, Charles's back was to Elsie, so Chloé could see Elsie and Charles at the same time.

"Perfect!" Chloé thought and smiled brightly at Charles.

He was talking about a new case, not that Chloé liked his talks about his work, but tonight, she would be the best audience ever. She had her chin on her hands and nodded from time to time.

When Charles dropped his napkin, Chloé looked at Elsie and saw her opened her eyes wide. Elsie had caught Charles's profile, but he hadn't seen her. Chloé looked at Elsie straight in the eyes and did her best bright smile. Elsie smiled shyly and looked away.

"Beth? Are you listening?" Joe asked.

"What? Oh, yes, yes, sorry."

Elsie could see Charles's back every time she looked at Joe, and that was very annoying. She saw when Chloé patted Charles's hand on the table and saw when he turned his hand to squeeze hers.

"Are you sure you don't want some wine?" Joe asked as he picked up the bottle.

"You know what? I think that I will take some, yes."

Joe put some wine in Elsie's glass. She picked it up and drank it all. She gave it back to Joe. He laughed and filled it again.

"Well, you will be tipsy before the end of the evening."

She looked at Charles's table before answering. When she saw him kiss Chloé's hand, she turned her attention back on Joe.

"You will like me tipsy… Don't worry," she answered smiling. Joe arched an eyebrow.

"I like you like that…"

"Like what?"

"Flirting."

Elsie smiled and patted Joe's hand across the table. She could feel Chloé's eyes on her. The two women spent the evening looking at each other discreetly.

Joe was talking to Elsie while waiting for the card of desserts. She was almost listening when she saw something. Chloé had one foot out of her shoe.

" _Oh, no… She would not…"_ Elsie screamed to herself. Then she saw it. Chloé put her foot on Charles's ankle. Then, she made it go from there to his knee where she stopped when Charles tensed. He bent a little on the table to talk to her, and Elsie thought that he would ask her to remove her foot. But Chloé simply smiled at whatever he had said and nodded. She moved her foot again, but Elsie could not see it because it was too high on Charles's leg. The waiter came and gave to Elsie and Joe their menus.

Elsie was tired and very annoyed by the other couple. She wanted to go home and to bed. So she quickly made a plan. It was not very smart, but she was almost sure that it would work. She could feel the effects of wine and it was a nice sensation. Joe was reading his menu. Elsie bent down a little on the table which made her breasts push against her décolleté.

"Joe?"

"Yes?" He said without looking up.

" _Wrong start…"_ she said while she pushed her fingertips in his sleeve, caressing the skin of his wrist. At that, he looked up and looked straight at her breasts. His eyes were stuck there for a few seconds before he looked up to her face, smiling widely.

"Yes, what did you wonder?"

Elsie let her hand move higher in Joe's sleeve.

"I wondered if you would like to take your dessert at my home rather than here?"

Joe bent down, which made her fingers push father up in his sleeve.

"Babe, you go ahead and fetch our coats. I'll pay the bill."

Elsie didn't have time to respond because Joe was already up, searching for the waiter. Elsie stood too and turned quickly when she saw Charles kissing Chloé. She put her coat on, and Joe arrived only seconds later. He put his own coat on his arm and took Elsie's hand in his and led them out of the restaurant.

He took out his keys and climbed in his car. Elsie had just sat when he started driving.

"You seem in a hurry…" Elsie said teasingly. Joe looked at her, and Elsie saw it, the expression he had when he wanted her. His eyes were dark and he became red in the face.

"I am actually…" Joe answered, his eyes now fixed on the road, and Elsie laughed. She was thankful for all the wine that she had drunk. It would give her some courage to take her revenge on the Frenchy; and forget her.

When they arrived at her place, she could tell Joe was excited, and, if she was honest, so was she. She was only a woman after all…

When they reached her front door, she searched for her keys in her purse, and Joe's hands were on her hips, her bottom. Elsie dropped her keys and bent down to fetch them. Her bottom pushed right in Joe's groin, and he groaned. Elsie smiled, grabbed her keys, put them in the lock, and pushed her bottom against Joe again. Her palms were flat against the door and she pushed herself against him two or three times more.

"Hurry up, Beth. I want my dessert." He whispered in her ear. Elsie turned in his arms, her back against the still-closed door. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was the same height as her, and it was nice to date someone like that.

" _Sometimes…"_

This time, it was Joe who pushed against her and she opened the door. She led them to her bedroom and locked her door. She pushed him on the bed and straddled him.

"I DO like you drunk."

"I've told you so…" Elsie laughed before kissing him.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello ! Thank you for your reviews ! I love reading them so much !

Here is the new chapter ! Hope you like it !

…

Elsie didn't even open her eyes before she could feel that her head hurt. Very much. She turned it on the other side and grimaced at the pain. She was on her stomach and she stretched her legs and noticed two things: one, every part of her body was hurting, and two, she was naked. She quickly opened her eyes but closed them just as fast. Memories of last night came to her mind.

 _Charles in her house, their almost kiss, Joe, the restaurant, the Frenchy, the wine, her bedroom, sex with Joe._

Elsie moaned and put her hand on her head. She could hear noises coming from the kitchen and wondered if Joe would be the kind of guy to bring breakfast in bed for his woman. Charles was that type. Elsie groaned and turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

" _No Els, don't think of him. What a jerk! Coming here, almost kissing you, touching you_ _,_ _and then flirting with his girlfriend for the entire restaurant to see…"_

Elsie made a decision. She would not waste her time with him anymore. He would just be her ex-husband, the father of her daughters, and that's it. She would stop thinking of him and their married life. With that thought came the thought of their divorce and Elsie felt a pain in her chest and her eyes getting wet.

" _Bloody hangover…"_ she muttered. It always did weird things to her.

Then, she heard a laugh. A feminine laugh.

"The girls!" She sat up in her bed. She could see her dress at the foot of it. Her bra was next to her on the floor. She moved her legs out of the bed and stood. She didn't have to open the curtains, so she just put on her nightgown and opened her bedroom door. When she turned her head, she saw her knickers on the floor, on the side of the bed where Joe had probably slept. Indeed, the only proof that Elsie had that he had been here was the smell of his cheap after-shave that she did not really like.

She made her way in the corridor and to the kitchen after she had gone to the toilet.

Sybil was sitting on a chair around the table and Anna was making some tea. They wore their pajamas. Anna had her hair in a low and untidy bun and Sybil had let her dark, curly hair free.

"Hello," Anna said when she noticed her mother.

"Tea or head powder?" Sybil added smiling. Elsie groaned and sat beside her.

"Both."

"Did you enjoy your evening?" Anna asked.

Elsie, who had put her head on her hands on the table, nodded. "I did. But it's been a long time since I woke up with a hangover…" Her voice was muffled with her hair and it made Sybil laughed.

"Yeah, Joe told us that you had drunk too much last night…"

Elsie lifted her head so quickly that she had to take it in her hands to try to stop the pain.

Anna gave her glass and Elsie drank it all.

"You have seen him?"

"Yes, he was taking a tea when we woke up. He could not stay but he left a note for you." Sybil said and pointed the fridge.

Elsie stood and took the paper with "Beth" written on it.

"By the way, why is he calling you Beth?"

"Because my name is Elizabeth."

"Yes but everybody else calls you Elsie."

"I don't know Sybil… He started calling me that and I have no objection…"

The two sisters stayed silent while their mother was reading the paper.

" _Beth, I looking forward our next evening alone together. Thank you for last night. I DO like you drunk. XX, Joe."_

Elsie blushed thinking of what she had done last night and she didn't know if she was thankful or not for the fact that she did not remember everything.

"So, girls, how was your party?"

Anna sat next to her sister. Elsie took a place across from them.

"It was so nice, Mum! So nice to see them all at the same time!" Sybil said.

"Yes, I can imagine. But you'll be there for the next holiday, won't you? Christmas break and everything?"

"Yes." Anna answered. "We would like to spend some time here. And spend more time with Dad… We haven't seen him much…"

"Yeah… Maybe he could drive us to the station tonight? I think I will call him later… Is it alright with you if he picks up us here?" Sybil asked.

"Of course. At what time is your train?"

"8:00 PM."

"Yeah, no problem."

The three women were sipping their tea when the Four Seasons started singing. Anna jumped on her feet, running to her bedroom. When she came back in the kitchen she was speaking on her phone.

"Yes. Thank you. What about you? Yes, I'm sorry we've missed it, but Mum and Dad told us about it… Yes, she is, yes, but wait, I'll put the speaker on." When Anna finished, Violet's voice could be heard in the kitchen.

"Hi, Granny!"

"Hello, darling Sybil."

Even if Violet was not Sybil's and Anna's real grandmother she had always been like it. Violet had always been like a mother to Charles because he and Robert had always been best friends. Violet had been close to Elsie, too, even after her divorce.

"So, is everyone hearing me?" Violet asked, speaking far too loudly.

"Yes, Granny, Mum is here too." Anna said.

"Oh, hello, Elsie, dear."

"Hi, Violet." Elsie smiled.

"Is there something you wanted, Granny?" Sybil asked. She was very intrigued. Her grandmother called them sometimes, but never on a Sunday morning.

"Yes, actually, there is. Igor and I have something very important to tell you so we would like you to come this afternoon."

The three women looked at each other.

"Is everything alright, Violet?" Elsie asked worriedly. Violet was not the kind of woman to keep any secrets. If she had something to say she would.

"Everything will be. But we would like to have you all. Can you make it, girls?"

"Yes, Granny. Our train is at 8:00 PM." Anna answered.

"Good. Elsie?"

Elsie looked at her daughters, surprised.

"Oh, I…"

"Elsie, dear, we want all the people we love to be present. You are one of them. So, we will expect you at 3:00 PM. See you later. Anna, could you pass me your mother, please?"

Elsie picked up the phone and turned off the speaker while Sybil and Anna laughed and said their goodbyes.

"Yes, Violet?"

"Only you can hear?" Elsie stood from her chair and went into her office.

"Yes, I'm alone."

"Alright. Charles will be there this afternoon. Will that be okay?"

"Of course, I had thought about it, actually. Don't worry."

"Good. Goodbye, Elsie."

"Bye, Violet."

Elsie came back in the kitchen. Her daughters looked up at her.

"Did she tell you something?" Anna asked.

"No, nothing… Just wanted to tell me that your father will be there."

The sisters laughed. Elsie looked at them.

"What?"

"Nothing…" They said at the same time.

"Okay… Well, I will leave you to it then. I'm going to the bathroom."

Sybil waited until she heard the bathroom door being closed before she turned to her sister excitedly. Anna was sipping her tea and had a little smile at the corner of her mouth."

"Anna? What do…" Sybil could not finish her sentence. Anna had put down her cup on the table and was literally jumping on her seat.

"God, Sybil I don't know… What do you think she will do? Do you think it's because of us?"

"I don't know… But I do know something… She took our conversation very seriously…".

…

 _Any ideas of what the Carsons girls have been up to?_


	13. Chapter 13

First thing, I would like to apologize for the long delay... I went back to school, and it's not very easy to find time to write, even if I like it very much!

Second thing, thank you for all your kind reviews! They are very important to me and help me to write and continue this story. I had a not very kind review from a guest in the last chapter, so I could not answer him directly, but I just wanted to say to him that yes, I'm taking my time in this story because it's my very first one, so I'm not entirely comfortable with it. And if you find that my English is good, it's because of the work of my beta.

So yes, this story is long. Yes, I like to describe the life of Charles and Elsie when they were happily married, because I know that in the future I will describe their divorce, and I think no one will like that.

So please, if you don't like my story, stop reading, because it will never be perfect. But if you do like it, please keep reading and reviewing. And why not tell me what you would like to see in it?

Sorry for this speech, but I found it necessary...

...

Sybil and Elsie were sitting on the sofa, watching TV, while Anna was in the bathroom getting ready. It was already noon and they would have to leave soon.

Elsie saw the light of her phone's screen lighting up before Abba could sing a word. When she saw the name on the screen, she hesitated to take the call, but she felt the look of her daughter on her so she took it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Elsie. I hope I'm not disturbing you..."

"Absolutely not. I was watching TV with Sybil. Anna is in the bathroom." Elsie tried to sound casual but was afraid to fail. When Sybil looked at her with raised eyebrows, she mouthed a "it's your father" and Sybil bent a little in the direction of the phone.

"Hi Daddy!"

"Hi Sweetheart!" Elsie moved the phone so Sybil could hear him, then moved it back against her ear.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, I guessed that Violet asked you and the girls to come this afternoon?"

"Yes, yes, she did."

"Okay, so... Well, I wondered if, maybe, maybe I could pick you all up?"

Elsie stayed silent for a moment.

"You mean the three of us?"

"Yes, of course. Unless you don't want to, I mean. I can understand..."

Memories of the restaurant last night came to Elsie and her resolution to not let Charles be emotionally close to her.

"No, no! I mean you can. The girls will be happy." She looked at Sybil who was still watching TV.

"I'm glad. I will be there in 10 minutes."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

She was putting back the phone on the table when Anna came back in the living room.

"Your father is picking us up in 10 minutes."

Anna sat and looked at her sister.

"Okay..." They said together.

"What?" Elsie asked, turning to look at them.

"Nothing..." The sisters answered at the same time again, which made Elsie laugh.

When Charles knocked, exactly 8 minutes later, Anna and Sybil jumped to their feet. Anna opened the door, and Charles did not have time to say anything before he had his arms full of his daughters.

He hugged them close before they pulled away to let him come in. Charles closed the door behind him. When he turned, Elsie had come closer, and their daughters were smiling behind her.

"I'm early."

"You're perfect. I mean, your timing! Your timing is perfect." Elsie said. She blushed a little and turned away from Charles. Anna and Sybil were looking at her, clearly amused. "I'm going to fetch my purse."

Elsie closed the door of her bedroom and put her head on it, hands each sides of it. She breathed calmly a few times.

 _"Easy, Elsie. Just a little moment and then you won't be alone with him anymore."_

She grabbed her purse and returned to the living room. She took her coat and put it on.

"Shall we?" Charles asked. When the three women nodded, he opened the door for them. Elsie locked her front door and walked to his car. Sybil and Anna were already sitting in the back seat talking to each other. Elsie climbed in the front seat beside Charles. He turned on the car and watched his daughters in the mirror.

"No arguing over who is climbing in the front today, then?" He smiled.

Sybil and Anna laughed. Elsie turned to Charles.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Elsie shook her head and smiled fondly at them.

After a few minutes Sybil looked at her sister smiling. Anna looked back at her with a question in her eyes.

"Dad, we learnt lots of things about you recently..."

"Sybil!" Elsie warned.

Charles looked first at Sybil in the mirror and then at Elsie who was looking in front of her, biting her lip.

"What?"

"I always thought that you loved Mum's accent..." Sybil added. Anna laughed loudly.

Charles opened his eyes widely and turned his head to Elsie who had closed her eyes.

"You told them how we met?"

Elsie looked at him and nodded. Charles laughed and spoke to his daughters.

"I'm sure you thought me awful..."

This time, Elsie laughed.

"No, not awful. We were just impressed..." Anna said.

"Impressed?" Charles asked.

"Yes, that your relationship improved after that." She added.

"Well, that's thanks to time." He looked at Elsie in the corner of his eyes before adding "and Paris."

Elsie snapped her head up.

"Charles!"

Both Sybil and Anna leaned forward to be closer to their parents.

"Paris?" They asked at the same time.

Elsie turned to look at them.

"You really should stop doing that, you know?"

The sisters laughed, and Sybil asked.

"So! What about Paris?"

Charles and Elsie looked at each other quickly.

"You tell them." Elsie smiled at him.

"Alright. Well, now, you know that when your mother and I met, we were not very friendly... At the cricket match I acted stupidly because Alice had just told me something that I didn't take very well."

"Alice? Was she your girlfriend?" Anna asked.

"She was."

"And what had she told you?"

"That she had spent the afternoon with one of her friends that I didn't like. And I was right to be angry, because then she left with him... Anyway, some days afterward, I apologized to your mother, and she forgave me."

"Of course I did! I was new in a group of friends. I had no choice." Her voice was grave, but Charles saw the smile in the corner of her mouth.

"But what about Paris? Did you go there?" Sybil asked.

"Yes, with my 'group of friends.' That's where we realized that we liked each other, I guess," Charles answered smiling.

Sybil and Anna saw their father looking at their mother before he turned his gaze back on the road again.

"And can you tell us what happened?"

"Sybil... I'm not sure..." Charles and Elsie started at the same time.

The sisters laughed before Anna added. "Please..."

"You go!" Elsie said, looking at Charles.

 _"Oh, my!" Charles said, watching around him. Then he saw Elsie standing in the middle of the place, eyes on the floor. He fixed his eyes on her before he spoke to her._

 _"Come on, Elizabeth! I dare you!"_

 _Elsie looked up at him. She really seemed scared, and he did not want to mess things up with her._

 _"But what if..."_

 _"What if you enjoy the incredible view? Come on! I will stay with you." He extended his hand to her. She hesitated just a second before taking it. He led her close to the barrier of the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Elsie was taking very little steps. At some point, she closed her eyes, too afraid._

 _"I can't do it..." She started to turn away_ _,_ _but Charles put his hand on her waist to stop her. She looked up at him and their eyes locked._

 _"You can. Keep your eyes closed. I will help you."_

 _She closed her eyes again and Charles just looked at her face for a moment. He took back his hand from her waist to take her other hand in his. He led her where the view was the most amazing. He kept her hands in his but moved so that his front was to her back._

 _"Alright, when you want, open your eyes, Elsie."_

 _It was the first time that he used that name. Everyone else did, but he had never felt close enough to her to call her that. Until now._

 _Elsie smiled and slowly opened her eyes. Charles heard her gasp and felt her grip his hands stronger._

 _"You're okay?"_

 _"Yes! That's amazing! We can see so much of Paris from here!"_

 _"Like what?" He asked curiously._

 _Without thinking, Elsie let go one of his hands and pointed her finger to different place._

 _"This, L'Arc de Triomphe. There, Le Sacré Cœur. And there, La Place de la Concorde."_

 _Charles was smiling. He had not even looked where she had pointed, overwhelmed by the fact that she was so at ease with him that she had fought her fear of heights._

 _When she had finished, Elsie let go of his other hand and turned in his arms._

 _"Thank you."_

 _"You're welcome."_

 _Elsie smiled at him and started walking away but she didn't see the stair. She almost fell, but Charles easily caught her._

 _"Oh, god." Elsie opened her eyes and saw how close they were. She could feel herself blush._

 _"Thank you, Charles."_

 _"You're welcome, Elsie."_

 _They smiled at each other and Charles let her go. Soon, Richard joined him and stood next to him._

 _"What was that about?" He asked._

 _"I don't know... But I think I like it..."_

The family stayed silent in the car for a minute. Charles parked his car in front of Violet and Igor's giant house.

"That's so romantic!" Sybil said.

"Yeah!" Anna added.

Elsie's eyes, full of tears, looked straight ahead. She could not look at him, or her plan to forget him would fail. Charles saw her look and tried to make a diversion when he saw Violet coming out of the house.

"Girls, someone is waiting for you."

Anna and Sybil smiled and went out of the car.

"Granny!" They said together as Violet hugged them.

Charles heard Elsie breath loudly.

"Elsie?"

"No, Charles, please don't."

"I'm sorry... I should have not told them this story... But it was- it _is_ \- a good memory to me."

Elsie turned to him, and when she blinked, a tear ran down her cheek.

"It _is_ a good memory. That's why it hurts."

"Elsie, I..."

"Will you two stay in there all the afternoon, or will you join us?" Violet asked after she had knocked loudly on Elsie's window.

...

(5 days to wait ! He kissed her ! Said that he loves her ! Oh mon dieu !)


	14. Chapter 14

Here is the new chapter! I hope you will like it! And thank you very much for your reviews!

There is NO spoilers here.

...

Violet and Igor had bought the house one year after their marriage, a very long time ago. It had not been easy... Igor had reappeared in Violet's life when he had learnt that his wife was having an affair. He had asked for a divorce and had gone back to Violet. Robert had been off at University, but Rosamund had been still living with her mother, and she had not been very welcoming of her stepfather. But with a little time, she had understood that her mother was a young widow who deserved to find someone else. When Igor proposed to Violet, she had immediately said yes and a very beautiful ceremony had been prepared. Now, almost all the guests from their wedding were sitting in their living room.

Elsie was sitting on a sofa next to Beryl and Isobel. Richard was behind her, his hand on her shoulder. Bill was sitting with Charles and Igor by the table. Violet was talking with her granddaughters. Mary came with Matthew. Only Robert, Cora, and Edith were late.

"Are your parents okay?" Mary asked Sybil and Anna quietly. But before they could answer, Violet did.

"Of course they are! Ah, there you are!" she said when she saw Robert, Edith and Cora coming in. Mary smiled to the girls and they laughed together. When everybody had said hello to the latecomers, Igor spoke.

"Please, everybody take a seat. Violet and I need to tell you something." He said, sitting next to Violet. She put her hand on his, and everybody fell silent. Public affection was not really their way.

"Mama, is everything alright?" Robert asked.

"It is now. Do you all remember when Igor and I went to Paris for our long holidays?" Violet asked.

Everybody nodded.

"Well, it was not really holidays. I had cancer. Breast cancer." There. She had said it.

After some gasps, the room fell silent again. Igor turned his hand to lace his fingers with Violet's.

"Why didn't you tell us? I could have helped you." Sybil said.

"Because I didn't want you to treat me like I was dying, my dear."

"But even I could have treated you..." Richard added.

"I know you would. But you could not have been hidden it from Isobel, and I wanted nobody from the family to know..." Violet answered.

"But you're alright now?" Charles asked.

Elsie had her eyes on him since Violet's declaration. She had seen him close his eyes to not show his distress. Violet had been like a mother to him since he was very young. His parents had been both killed in a car accident when he was not more than 15. He was in the same school as Robert, and they had been friends for some time. Violet and then Igor had helped him all his life.

"I am, yes. And that's why I asked you there. You're all my family. Some of you not from my own blood, but you are all the same. Charles, you're like my son." Elsie saw him nod and clapped his hands on his laps. He did that only when he was nervous. "So your daughters are my granddaughters." Violet turned to Sybil and Anna who had both tears in their eyes. "Elsie, it's thanks to you that they are here, so you're part of my family too." Elsie could feel Charles's eyes on her now, and it was the second time in less than one hour that he saw her with tearful eyes. "Richard and Isobel, I don't think I have to tell you why you're part of family. Same thing for you Robert, Cora, Edith and Mary." Surprising each other, the two sisters had moved closer and Mary had even put her hand on Edith's back, supporting her. "Beryl, you've known my sons so long that it was only natural for Igor to employ you in his restaurant." The man nodded toward Beryl, who seemed speechless, which was a very rare thing.

"But Mama, I still don't understand why we're here." Robert said.

"You're here because I learnt last week that my cancer is over. I'm fine again, but I need you to celebrate it. So, Igor and I have rent a hotel for a weekend, and we're all going there."

"What?" Mary asked loudly.

"We've rented a part of a hotel and we're inviting you all to join us. Next weekend." Violet answered calmly.

"Where is the hotel?" Anna asked.

"In France. In Bretagne." Anna and Sybil looked discreetly at each other.

"In Bretagne! But Violet, it's freezing there in December." Elsie said.

"I know. But the hotel is very, very comfortable."

"Mama, even if we all wanted to go, what about our jobs? We can't leave for just two days... "

"But it's not two days. We are leaving on Friday night. The flight will take 2 hours. And you don't have to come back on Monday because I called your employers."

"What!"came the general answer.

"Don't be so shocked! Rosamund isn't coming; she is in America. Robert, Charles, Richard, and Beryl, you own the place where you work. Isobel, you're married to your boss. Mary and Cora, you're working for Robert. Sybil is still in school, and so is Edith, so you can say that you're sick. Anna doesn't work on Mondays in her school. And Elsie's secretary said that she could take a day off from work..."

"You've thought of everything..." Isobel said.

"Yes. And I want to invite you, so no fussing about money. Igor and I are paying for everything."

When she finally stopped speaking everyone was lost in their owns thoughts, trying to register everything she had said.

"Alright, why don't we eat something? I bought a cake," Igor said, standing.

Everybody stood. Some went outside a moment to smoke; others were chatting quietly.

"Elsie, may I talk to you for a moment?" Beryl asked her. She nodded and followed Beryl and Isobel into the bathroom.

"Is everything okay? I see you've come with Charles, and you didn't seem right when you came in..." Isobel asked.

Elsie took a steady breath. She had to tell them. Everything. Charles in her house, the kiss, Joe's entrance, the restaurant, the sex, the talk in the car...

"Oh god..." Isobel said.

"I know... And now I don't know what to do... Because he is saying sweet things to me but then he is flirty with his girlfriend in front of me... And now I have to go on holidays with him next week..."

"You could always say no..." Beryl suggested her.

Elsie bit on her bottom lip. "But I want to... That's the problem... I know I will have a great time... With you, with my daughters and even with him probably... But there is Joe, too, and, fuck ! I just don't know..."

"Do you love him? Joe, I mean." Isobel asked.

"No." Elsie answered fast.

"Well, why are you staying with him? Is the sex that good?" the red-haired one asked.

Elsie couldn't help but smile, Isobel laughed loud.

"Beryl! I... No, no it's not that good..."

"Compared to whom? Charles?"

"Of course! With Joe it's so different..."

"How? Different, better or… ?"

I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you two. In Violet's bathroom! Charles and I knew each other, very, very well. It was sensual... No matter what... With Joe it's... boring."

The three women looked at each other with smiles on their lips until Elsie's eyes filled with tears and she burst into tears. Her friends were around her in the next second.

"And now I can't help but imagine what Charles and that girl were doing at the same time. She is younger, prettier, sexier... I'm sure she is perfect for him..."

"Elsie, stop crying. Charles had two kids with you. Even when you couldn't get pregnant, he didn't let you down. You adopted Anna together, and then you had Sybil. He loved you, and I think he still does..." Isobel said gently.

Elsie looked up at her, her big blues eyes now red from crying.

"Do you think so?"

Beryl and Isobel nodded.

"But I think you have some things to say to each other first. Don't you think?"

"I don't know Isobel, I'm so scared... "

"I know... Why don't we get out of here and go eat some cake?"

Elsie nodded. On the other side of the door, Charles quickly moved away and returned to the living room.

"You're okay?" Robert asked him when he sat next to him.

"Yes." He was not.

He had just gone to the toilets when Richard had gone out to smoke, and when he was about to go into the bathroom to wash his hands, he had heard them. Her. Elsie, talking about him and Chloé in the restaurant. And then he understood; he understood what she had been saying in the car. She was there, she had seen Chloé flirting with him... Then she had cried. He had heard it and made a promise to himself.

 _"Yes, we have things to tell to each other. But if she wants me, I will never let her go again."_

Everybody took a plate and a place around the big table.

"Okay. So, now I need to know how many plane tickets I have to buy." Igor started. "So, Robert, how many tickets?"

"5. One for me, Cora, Edith, Mary, and Matthew."

"Alright. Beryl?"

"Just two. Bill and me. Daisy is not coming home next week."

"Richard?"

"Two. Isobel and I."

"Anna ?"

"Two. One for me, and the other one for John."

"Sybil?"

"One." She looked at her mother, and then at her sister, who smiled at her. "No, sorry, two."

"Two?" Charles and Igor asked at the same time.

"One for me and the other one for Tom." Sybil bit on her lip, looking at her father. Charles looked back at her and then caught a glimpse of Elsie with THE look. The one she was doing when she warned him.

"Two. Alright." He said and then bent a little on the table to whisper to his daughter. "This conversation is not over young lady..."

"Charles?"

He looked up to Igor and said without hesitation, "One." Even though he was looking at Igor,he had seen Elsie's head turning to him very fast.

 _"What the hell? Chloé is not coming ? Did they break-up? What is he doing?"_ Elsie was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Igor's question.

"What about your girlfriend?"

Elsie's breath stopped in her throat. _"He will say that she is buying her ticket on her own... Or meeting him there..."_

"She is not coming. We broke up."

Charles looked at his hands on the table. That was not quite true, but after what he had overheard, there was no way he would stay with Chloé.

They were some "Oh, I'm sorry..." comments around the table, and Charles only nodded and smiled.

 _"She let him go... Come on Els! That's your chance now... You want it; you want him, don't you?"_

"Elsie? Elsie? What about you, dear?" Igor asked.

"Yes, sorry. Hmm... Just one for me, too."

Charles quickly looked at her, their eyes locked. Elsie could feel herself blush and a very warm sensation coming on her stomach. He could feel the hair at the base of his neck tickling. But then Violet talked and Elsie had no choice but to look at her.

"Good. Well, now we can eat that cake. I know some of you have to go home, so I will see you next Friday. And please, don't forget your passport!"

...

That's it! We're going on holidays with them!


	15. Chapter 15

Hello ! I'm so sorry for the very long delay.. I've been very very with school and everything...

I hope this chapter is worth the wait !

...

Elsie was sitting on a chair in the airport, reading a magazine; Violet and Igor were sitting next to her, chatting. Her daughters were in the toilets, refreshing themselves- in fact, it was more Sybil redoing her make-up before Tom's arrival. Elsie smiled to herself as she thought back to how she had learnt of his existence, and above all, how Charles had learnt about Tom's existence.

 _"Mum, please, will you come with Dad and us to the station... I don't want him to become angry at me," Sybil had asked her mother when Charles had proposed to take them back at the train station._

 _"Oh, so you're just using me as a shield?" Elsie teased her daughter._

 _When they all had climbed in the car, after they had said their goodbye to everyone, nobody talked for a while. Elsie felt her phone vibrate in her purse and read the text from Beryl: 'Good luck! X."_

 _"So, Sybil, could you tell me more about Tom?" Charles asked, watching his daughter in the mirror._

 _"Well, we met a little while ago, and we're together now. But I didn't tell anyone except Anna. I told mum yesterday..."_

 _"Sybil, I'm not angry with you, you know. It's just hard for me to know that there is another man in your life." Charles said smiling._

 _"I know, but I promise you will like him!" Sybil put_ a hand _on his shoulder, squeezing it before pulling back. "There is just something I would like to tell you, before you meet him next week... He is a musician, and I mean, it's his job; he wants to be a musician..."_

 _Charles was about to speak when he felt Elsie's hand on his. He turned his head to look at her, her look saying, "She is in love; trust her. She knows what she is doing; support her." And when she took back her hand, he just said,"Then, I would like to hear what he is doing." Charles was happy to have said that; the three women in his car were smiling._

"Elsie? Do you know when Charles is coming with the others? He said that he would pick up Isobel and Richard."

"No, I don't know, Violet... But I could text him..."

"Yes, please, my dear."

Elsie took her phone to write a message to read it two times before sending it.

 _"Here you are, ladies! Let me help you with your bags," Charles said as he climbed out of his car._

 _"We have 20 minutes before your train you want to take a tea? " Elsie asked her daughters._

 _Five minutes later they were sitting at a table and speaking about Anna and John._

 _"Dad, I'm too young to get married!" Anna said. Elsie and Sybil laughed loud. The youngest was very relieved by the fact that her father had said nothing about her relationship with Tom, butshe was a little disturbed anyway. But right now, he was talking about her sister so SHE was relieved._

 _"Yes! That's not what I said, nor what I want! I'm just saying that if John wants to propose to you, he has to do it properly."_

 _Elsie choked on her tea, which made the three other look at her._

 _"No offence, Charles, really, but I don't think_ _ **your**_ _proposal was very proper."_

 _"Well, I..." Charles started but was cut by his eldest._

 _"Mum, please,will you tell us?"_

Elsie came out of her dream to the sound of her phone. " _On my way to the airport. X. Charles_." She smiled.

 _Elsie and Charles were sitting on the sofa, both watching a movie. He had his hand around her shoulder playing with her hair. He seemed tense this night, so Elsie had proposed to watch a movie._

 _"Elsie, do you want to go to Violet's place this Saturday?" he asked suddenly._

 _" not?"_

 _"We could do some shopping at the same time and have a dinner in a restaurant. Would you want to?" Elsie turned her head to_ look at _him and nodded, smiling._

 _"And would you marry me?" Elsie stopped. Really stopped. Her breath was caught in her throat, her eyes not blinking... Charles was looking at her with such a look, love written all over his face, and fear, a little, maybe, too._

 _"Yes," she whispered. "Yes!" she screamed then._

 _Charles dropped on his knee, in front of her legs, taking a little box from the pocket of his pants. He opened it and Elsie saw the most beautiful ring she had ever seen._

 _"Elizabeth Hughes, I would be the happiest and the proudest man in the world to have you as my wife. So, Elsie, my Elsie, will you marryme?"_

 _She didn't respond. She literally jumped on him, making him fall on the floor, with her resting on top of him. She kissed him, and itwas only the lack of air that made her stop._

 _"Charles, I love you so much! I will be the lucky one to marry you. So yes, my Charlie, I want to marry you!"_

That was what she had told her daughters. Of course, she didn't reveal that she and Charles had ended up completely naked, making love on the floor, not two minutes after that.

Their daughters had the 'soft' side of the story. Sybil had said that it was "so romantic," and Anna had promised her father that John would propose 'correctly' to her when the time would come. After that, they had put their daughters on the train.

 _"Elsie, there is something I need to tell you."_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"If Chloé and I are no longer together, it's because I chose it. No, please, wait. I know that you saw us in the restaurant, that she saw you, and that's why she flirted with me. But I didn't see you. What she did is unforgivable. I will not forgive her for that. And please, don't say that I didn't need to split with her because of that, because I needed to. Elsie, I would never ever make you suffer like she did. That_ _was immature. I'm so sorry." Charles was breathless when he finished. They were both silent in his car._

 _Elsie turned her head to him. "Thank you. Really, Charles. But if you love her..."_

 _"Love her? Elsie! I love... I don't love her. And you are more precious to me than she is."_

Charles had arrived at the airport at the same time as Robert and Cora, who also had Beryl and Bill with them. Tom had also arrivedand had been presented to all the family.

Charles and Elsie had been the first ones to meet him, and everything had gone well.

 _They were sitting side by side when Sybil came, hand in hand, with a very handsome young man._

 _Elsie turned to Charles to whisper_ _"Be nice, please." He nodded, his eyes still on the man before him._

 _"Mum, Dad, this is Tom. Tom Branson." Tom extended his hand to Elsie._

 _"I'm pleased to finally meet you, Tom."_

 _"Thank you so much,Mrs. Carson. Mr. Carson, I'm happy that we're meeting." Charles shook his hand._

 _"Nice to meet you, Tom. I hope this holiday with us won't make you run away." Charles joked before checking his watch._

 _Elsie felt proud and smiled._

 _"Oh, I have to put our bags over there. Could you help me, Tom?" Charles had asked._

 _"Of course,Mr. Carson." Tom squeezed Sybil's hand and went with Charles._

 _Before Sybil could go anywhere,_ Elsie grabbed _her by the hand._

 _"Why is he calling me 'Mrs. Carson'? You didn't tell him that we're divorced?"_

 _"Oh, I didn't? Well I must have forgotten... Shall we go help them?"_

 _Sybil walked away, leaving a stunned Elsie behind._

Now, Elsie was sitting in her place in the plane, by the window. Igor had reserved the place in the same order as he did last weekend, so Elsie was sitting next to Charles. But she didn't mind really; he was the only one who could calm her in this circumstance.

She was trying to breathe calmly, but she still felt the knot in her stomach. When Charles sat down with his book in his hand, he looked at her.

"Are you al... Oh,God, I didn't remember that you were afraid of flying." Charles said, putting his hand on hers.

"I'm fine... I'm just, tense." Elsie smiled back at him. She enjoyed the feeling of his fingers but could not relax.

The light switched on and Elsie buckled her belt very quickly and closed her eyes.

"Elsie, Elsie, look at me. Everything will be fine, I promise." He smiled gently at her. She nodded.

They both heard Sybil laugh and looked at each other.

"Do you like him?" Elsie asked.

"Tom? Well, I don't really know, but I think he's not ugly, and apparently he makes her laugh. And this is all I want, to protect them and to make them happy," Charles said, his eyes on Elsie.

"Well, that's easy... They can twist you around their little finger..." Elsie smiled but it faded when the plane started to move. She almost missed what Charles said.

"Just like their mother." Elsie turned her head to Charles but closed her eyes when the plane left the earth.

"Elsie, it will be fine and very quick. Here, relax." Charles took her hand in his and traced little circles.

"Charles, talk to me please..." Elsie begged. When Charles heard his daughter laugh again he knew what he would talk about.

"Do you remember when we had the girls? When we learnt that we would have Anna? And then when you told me that you were pregnant with Sybil? I can't believe that it was so long ago..." Elsie laughed gently.

"I know. Our little chance and our little miracle." She smiled back at him.

They were just married when they decided to have a child. It had been an easy decision. They both wanted it very much. But time had passed and Elsie had never fallenpregnant. One day, Charles had come home with a big smile on his face. He was working on a case of a mother who had mistreated her little baby girl. Elsie had asked himwhy on earth he was smiling, and he answered that the baby had to be adopted. If not, she would be placed in boarding school. Elsie met the little baby and fell in love with her "little Anna", their "little chance,"immediately. They made the arrangements, and as Charles had been working on the case, adoption was easier. Of course they told her the truth, and Anna had always been pleased to have parents like them.

Charles was laughing quietly, and Elsie didn't really know why.

"What?"

"Nothing... I just... I was remembering the day you told me you were pregnant."

"Oh, yes..." Elsie joined him.

 _"Charles?"_

 _"Kitchen!" He yelled. "You're here early. Els! Why are you crying, Darling?"_

 _"Charles, I'm... I'm..."_

 _"What? You're what? Speak_ _,_ _Elsie, please!"_

 _"I'm pregnant!" She put her hands in front of her mouth. Anna was sitting in her chair, eating the supper that her Daddy had made her. She was looking at her parents, not really knowing if 'pregnant' was a good thing or not, because now, her Mummy had a big smile on her face but tears in her eyes, and her Daddy was not speaking or blinking anymore._

 _"Charles! Speak! Say something!"_

 _"You're pregnant? I'll be a dad again? You're pregnant!" He was shouting, tears in his eyes. He kissed her soundly on the lips, before dropping to his knees. Putting his arms around her waist, he kissed her still flat stomach. "I love you, Elsie! I'm going tobe a dad again!"_

 _When her father kissed her Mummy once again on the lips, Anna decided that 'pregnant' was a good thing._

"It was a good moment." Elsie said after a little while. Charles turned his head to look at her. Their faces were close, very close. Elsie moved her hand, intertwining their fingers together. Charles closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he was lost in her big blue eyes, her pretty red lips.

"Have dinner with me tonight?"

"Yes."

Charles had asked and Elsie had answered so quickly that they both needed a moment to register it.

"I think we need to talk."

"I think so, too." Charles bent down a little towards her, to give her time to reject him if she wanted to. And then, in the plane full of their family and friends, their hands still linked, Charles kissed Elsie. Not a rough kiss, not even a sensual one, but a sweet one, full of promises.

Elsie could finally relax, but she knew that there was still a long road ahead of them. It would be a painful and long one, and it would start tonight. Both of them knew it.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm so sad that Downton is over, but I'm so pleased by how it ended for Charlie and Elsie !

I hope you enjoy this chapter !

...

"Elsie?"

"I'm in here! Sit down Beryl. I'm coming." Beryl sat on Elsie's bed.

"Well, I just wanted to know if.." The red-haired woman stopped at the sight of Elsie getting out of the bathroom. "I wanted to know if you would like to join us for dinner, but apparently you have other plans..."

Elsie had put on a pair of black combi-trousers that hugged her curves. She was still barefoot but had done her makeup and her hair.

"Yeah, I do, actually. I'm going to dinner with Charles." Elsie felt herself blush, and Beryl smiled at her.

"Okay, well, I'm leaving. Have a very nice evening, and try to not be too nervous."

"Thank you. And Beryl, I mean it: thank you." Elsie hugged her friend tightly and kissed her cheek. Beryl returned the hug and closed the door quietly behind her.

Elsie was very nervous, she wanted this dinner with Charles, but it had been years since the last time they had been all alone together.

 _"Well, except in the plane,"_ Elsie thought smiling. They had spent the one and a half hour of flight very close to each other.

 _"You're alright now?" Charles asked when he let go of Elsie's lips. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to Charles._

 _"Yes." Elsie laughed a little._

 _"What?" Elsie leaned towards Charles, her mouth close to his ear to whisper to him._

 _"You have lipstick on your lips."_

 _"Really? And whose fault is that?" They both laughed a little. Elsie looked around her before kissing Charles again. She let go of his bottom lip to whisper against it._

 _"We look like teenagers..."_

Elsie shook her head and opened her bag to search for her shoes. She put on her red heels and stood in front of the mirror. She had her hands in her hair when Charles knocked at her door. She opened it with a big smile on her face.

"Elsie, you are absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, Charles. You look very handsome, I must say. Come in."

Charles closed the door and took Elsie's hand in his when she started to walk away. She looked up at him and put both hands on his chest; he put his around her waist. He bent down on her and kissed her.

"Hello, Elsie."

"Hello, Charles." Elsie let her hands go around his neck, touching his hair. She put her forehead against his.

"God, it's been so long."

" _Too_ long." Charles added before kissing her again.

They kissed. Again and again. In her hotel room with no one to stop them. Charles walked and trapped Elsie between his body and the bathroom door. They kissed again and again. When they were breathless, Charles buried his head in her neck, smelling, kissing and nipping her skin there. Her hands were roaming in his hair and against his back. His hands were on her hips, the curve of her back and up in her hair. Elsie was moaning quietly against him, kissing him wherever she could reach.

"He's back," Elsie thought smiling. And then, she remembered. Their last time together in _**their**_ home, their bed, as husband and wife. And she had been pregnant. Elsie froze against the door and put her hands against Charles's chest, pushing him away.

Charles smiled down at her but stopped when he realized that she had tears in her eyes.

"Els, Darling, what's wrong?"

"Go away, Charles! What are we doing?" She was openly crying now, and it broke Charles's heart even more.

"But Elsie, I thought that we... I just... I don't know..."

"You thought what? That I wanted you? Of course I do! But Charles..." Elsie took a step closer to him. "We are divorced, and you asked for it."

That remark took Charles aback.

"Well, yes, but that was because of you; it was for you..." Charles could feel a pain in his stomach, tears prickling his eyes when he looked down at her. She was absolutely beautiful, her lips swollen red from their kisses and her blue eyes bright with tears.

"Wh... What do you mean for me?" She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"You didn't want to be near me anymore after... after..."

"After William's death." Elsie closed her eyes when she said that, a sharp pain in her stomach.

Charles could feel his anger coming, anger against himself, against an unfair life.

"YES! Yes, exactly. After our son's death. You didn't want me near you anymore. I was the one getting you pregnant. And you were so sad, didn't want me to sleep with you, touch you, speak to you..."

"Oh, god! And it's because I was a selfish, broken wife that you started working awful hours, leaving me all alone in our house only six months after Sybil left for college, and started walking out with your secretary!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about, Elsie? I've never cheated on you! I would never do that! I loved you!"

"Please! You hated me! You hated me for not giving you a boy! Well, I'm sorry! I'm fucking sorry to have lost my baby!"

Charles was fuming, but so was Elsie. She was trembling with rage. They had never talked about it before, not ever. Now, all the anger they felt against one another was coming, and neither was able to stop it.

"Don't swear."

"I'll swear if I want to! Fuck you, Charles!" Elsie shouted, her cheeks now wet with tears that she didn't even try to stop. "Get out! Get out of here! Get out of my life and go back to your Frenchy girl!"

Charles took a step toward her. "You're sure about that? Because if I pass this door, you'll never see me again!"

Elsie came even closer to him, looking up at him, her jaw clenched. "Good."

When Charles shut the door loudly, he heard her shouting, "I fucking hated you!"He needed air.

 _"You're... You're pregnant?" Charles asked, his eyes wide open._

 _Elsie bit her lip and nodded._

 _"Yes. Yes!" Charles jumped to his feet and bent down, kissing her everywhere on her face. Elsie was laughing. She knew that he loved his girls more than anything, but she also knew that Charles would want a boy. Teaching him to walk, run, read, play, biking... And she was about to give him that._

 _They were living a daydream until one day during one of Elsie's ultrasounds. The baby was not growing anymore; he would not be growing anymore. But Elsie had to give birth. It would be too dangerous to wait, and she had to give birth to a dead child._

 _Charles was with her when that happened. He had one arm around her shoulders and the other one around hers on her belly. When the nurse put the baby on her stomach, she had asked for a name, and they had both answered "William"._

 _Elsie had cried on Charles's chest, but never stopped looking at her baby. After that, nothing had been the same._

 _Charles was devastated. HE was the one who wanted to have another baby. HE was the one who had convinced Elsie. And now they were both unhappy, but he could not go to her... He was too sorry for what he had done. On the other hand, Elsie felt miserable, SHE was the one who had kept the baby to make Charles happy, and now, because of her, they were both unhappy, because she couldn't make it. They were so deep in their own sadness that they didn't manage to notice the other's grief._

Charles walked around the hotel for almost two hours before he came back in. When he passed by the bar to go to his room he heard a laugh. A laugh that he would recognize anywhere. Elsie was there, leaning on the bar, a glass in her hand, laughing with another customer. She had removed her eye makeup, but she still had the same clothes and shoes. She had obviously had too much to drink.

When she heard someone behind her, she turned on her seat.

"Charlie! I wondered where you had gone! Charlie, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is my ex-husband, Charlie!" She exclaimed to the man next to her.

"Elsie, how many drinks did you have?"

She bit her lip, tried to get up, and almost fell down. Charles easily caught her.

"Come on, Elsie. I'll help you to your room."

"Hey, leave her alone! She's a grown woman!" Lucas stood and tried to put his hand on Elsie's shoulder. Charles caught it and pushed him. Elsie had her forearms on the bar, her head leaning between them.

"Charles, Charles..." she whispered. "I think I'm going to be sick. Please!"

Charles turned his head to her. He put his hand on Lucas's chest and pushed him back on his seat. He then turned to Elsie.

"Come on; come here." She turned to face him and took his arm. But with her first step, she almost fell back.

"Take off your shoes, Elsie." She tried, but she thought she might be sick just there. Charles told her to sit and bent down in front of her to take off her shoes himself. When his hands touched her silky calves, all the anger he had felt just disappeared. He then picked her up, one arm underneath her arms, the other one underneath her thighs, her shoes in one of his hands.

She put her head against Charles's chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the things I've said and done. I don't hate you, Charles. In fact, I love you." Charles pulled her closer to him, kissing her head. He could feel tears in his eyes. "I love you too, Darling." Elsie turned her head and kissed his neck.

Charles opened her door and put her on the bed. He took off her clothes but had to stop several times to pushed off Elsie's hands on him. Each time he smiled a little, kissing her forehead. He sat down on the bed beside her.

"Stay with me, please. I told you horrible things. I want to hold you, Charles, please." So he took off his shoes and his clothes, leaving only his undershorts and shirt.

Elsie turned, her chest to his. And then he could not take it any longer. He cried, and Elsie cried, too. They cried for hours, for their baby, for their wasted years, until they fell asleep together, for the first time in a very long time.


End file.
